Person

Robertson, Edward Graeme (1903 - 1975)

Born
20 October 1903
Footscray, Victoria, Australia
Died
25 December 1975
Toorak, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Conservationist and Neurologist

Summary

Graeme Robertson was a neurologist whose influence contributed to the establishment of neurology in Australia on a high clinical, scientific and professional level. For 29 years he was associated with the Royal Melbourne Hospital in an honorary capacity, in addition to being on the honorary staff of several other Melbourne hospitals. His research on pneumoencephalography earned him a worldwide reputation, and led to general acceptance of pneumography as a practical and essential aid to neurological diagnoses until superseded by tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Robertson's book Pneumoencephalography (1957, 2nd ed. 1967) was considered the definitive work on the subject. Other research interests included epilepsy, the grasp reflex, oligodendrogliomas, poliomyelitis, encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, and aneurysms. Robertson was a founding member of the Australian Association of Neurologists, of which he served a term as Vice-President, and of the Asian and Oceanian Association of Neurologists. A skilled photographer, Robertson published several well-received books documenting Australia's heritage buildings, particularly cast iron lacework, during the period when many of these buildings were being demolished. Sydney lace (1962) became a classic.

Details

Chronology

1927
Education - MB BS, University of Melbourne
1928 - 1929
Career position - Medical officer, Melbourne Hospital
1930
Education - Member, Royal College of Physicians, London
1930
Career position - House physician, Bethlem Royal Hospital, London
1930
Education - MD, University of Melbourne
1931 - 1934
Career position - Resident Medical Officer, National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London
1934 - 1944
Career position - Honorary Physician to Outpatients, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1938 - 1975
Career position - Foundation Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
1944 -
Career position - Consulting Neurologist, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
1944 - 1953
Career position - Honorary Neurologist, Royal Children's Hospital
1944 - 1963?
Career position - Honorary Neurologist, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1946
Career position - Fellow, Royal College of Physicians, London
1950
Career position - Founding Member, Australian Association of Neurologists
1953 - 1963?
Career position - Honorary Neurologist, Royal Children's Hospital
1958 - 1972
Career event - Honorary Fellow, College of Radiologists of Australasia
1962 - 1964
Career position - Vice-President, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
1962 - 1966
Career position - President, Australian Association of Neurologists
1963 - 1973
Career position - Editor, Proceedings of the Australian Association of Neurologists
1966
Career position - President, 2nd Asian and Oceanic Congress of Neurology, Melbourne
1972 - 1975
Award - Honorary Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Radiologists

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • McDonald, G. L., Roll of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Sydney: Royal Australasian College of Physicians, 1988), 332 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Clark, Mary Ryllis, 'Robertson, Edward Graeme (1903-1975), Neurologist and Conservationist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds, vol. 16 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 108-109. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160127b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Denny-Brown, D., 'Obituary: Edward Graeme Robertson 1903 - 1975', Transactions of the American Neurological Association, 102 (1977), 185. Details
  • Game, John, 'Edward Graeme Robertson', Medical Journal of Australia, 1976 (2) (1976), 147-8. Details
  • Game, John A., 'Edward Graeme Robertson 1903 - 1975', Proceedings of the Australian Association of Neurologists, 13 (1976), 103. Details
  • Hooper, R., 'Graeme Robertson and the golden age of neurology', Clinical and Experimental Neurology, 15 (1978), 1-10. Details
  • Kempster, P. A.; Gerraty, R. P.; and Bower, S. P. C., 'E. Graeme Robertson - dynamics in fluid and light', Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 20 (2) (2013), 204-11. Details
  • Robertson, E. G., 'John White, surgeon-general to the colony', Clinical and Experimental Neurology, 5 (1968), 1-18. Details

Resources

See also

  • Sage, M.R., 'The History of Neuroradiology: an Australian Perspective', Australasian Radiology, 39 (1995), 208-215. Details

Helen Cohn

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