Person

Syme, George Adlington (1859 - 1929)

KBE

Born
13 July 1859
Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, England
Died
19 April 1929
Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Surgeon

Summary

Sir George Syme carried out the first successful removal of an intra-cranial meningioma in Australia (1893). He studied at the Melbourne Hospital and was later appointed in-patient surgeon there in 1903. By the time Syme retired from the hospital in 1919 he had progressed to resident, surgeon, consultant surgeon and finally president of the hospital. Syme also concurrently held other positions including honorary surgeon to in-patients at St Vincent's Hospital (1893-1903), Surgeon to the Victorian police force, and Honorary Consultant Surgeon at the Melbourne Dental Hospital. At some stage early in his career he studied at King's College Hospital in London and held appointments at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, the Central London Throat and Ear Hospital and the Soho Hospital. His portrait by John Longstaff is held by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Melbourne.

Details

Chronology

1880s - 1924
Career position - Private practice
1881
Education - Bachelor of Medicine (MB) completed at the University of Melbourne
1882
Education - Bachelor of Surgery (BCh) completed at the University of Melbourne
1885 -
Award - Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS)
1887 -
Career position - Honorary Pathologist at the Women's Hospital
1887 -
Career position - Honorary Surgeon to out-patients at the Melbourne Hospital
1887 - c. 1890
Career position - Demonstrator and Examiner in Anatomy at the University of Melbourne
1888
Education - Master of Surgery (MS) completed at the University of Melbourne
1889 -
Career position - Surgeon to the Victorian police force
1890 -
Career position - Acting Professor of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne
1891 -
Career position - Honorary Consultant Surgeon at the Melbourne Dental Hospital
1893 - 1903
Career position - Honorary Surgeon to in-patients at St Vincent's Hospital
1903 - 1919
Career position - In-patient Surgeon at Melbourne Hospital
1908
Career position - President of the British Medical Association, Victorian branch
1914 - 1916
Military service - Lieutenant-Colonel with the Australian Imperial Force
1919
Career position - President of the British Medical Association, Victorian branch
1922 - 1929
Career position - Chairman of the federal council of the British Medical Association
1924
Career position - Chairman of the Commonwealth royal commission on health
1924
Award - Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) - for Service to Victoria
1924 - 1927
Career position - President of the Australasian Medical Congress (British Medical Association)
1927
Career position - Founding Fellow, and Inaugural President, College of Surgeons of Australasia
1929
Award - Honorary Fellow, American College of Surgeons
1929
Award - Honorary Degree Doctor of Laws, University of Wales

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See also

  • Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details

Rosanne Walker & Annette Alafaci

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