Museums



Sir James Young Simpson’s Medicine Box

Large medicine chests were often awkward to transport and so pocket sized versions were often carried by 19th century physicians for use in emergencies. This example belonged to Sir James Young Simpson (1811-1870), the celebrated Edinburgh obstetrician who introduced chloroform as an anaesthetic in 1847. Sir James gave this medicine box to his friend Dr James Ross of Inverness and in 1884 Dr Ross’s widow gave the box to the father of Major General Douglas Wimberley, Principal of University College Dundee 1946-54.

back to Tayside Medical History Museum