Journal of medical biography
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Biography Historical Article
Sir James Young Simpson and religion: myths and controversies.
This paper analyses two key aspects of the life and work of Sir James Young Simpson: his evangelical Christianity and his reaction to criticism following his use of anaesthesia in obstetrics. Simpson's personal religious struggle is placed in the context of the devastating events surrounding the Disruption of the established Church of Scotland in 1843. ⋯ Simpson's carefully constructed counter to criticism of anaesthesia, drawing on considerable theological and linguistic expertise, reveals a complexity at odds with the simplicity of his faith. The contrast is so great and the reaction so elaborate that it is proposed that Simpson deliberately exaggerated the affair, believing the publicity could only be valuable.