Dr Kenneth Clark Grigor
Dr Kenneth Clark Grigor DA MD MB ChB FFARCS
25/10/1914 to 05/2010
Place of birth: Fortrose, Scotland
Nationality: British
CRN: 502708
Education and qualifications
|
General education |
Fortrose Academy 1926-32 |
|---|---|
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MB ChB, Glasgow, 1937 |
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Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Election |
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Year of Fellowship |
1953 |
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Other qualification(s) |
DA (RCP&S) 1940 MD 1952 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
After graduation Grigor did house jobs at East Fortune Sanatorium in East Lothian and the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. At the latter hospital he was appointed trainee anaesthetist in 1939 and a year later ‘Anaesthetist’. For the next seven years he worked there and in the thoracic surgery unit of Ruchill Hospital. From 1947 to 1949 he served as Specialist Anaesthetist in the RAMC, attaining the rank of Major. Next he was Senior Anaesthetist at the cardiothoracic unit of Mearnskirk Hospital, Glasgow. In 1950 he was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow where he remained until his retirement in 1979.
Professional interests and activities
Grigor’s specialty was anaesthesia for cardiothoracic surgery, on which he published several papers, and his MD thesis in 1952 was on the causes of postoperative lung collapse. Between 1953 and 1957 he introduced the techniques of hypothermia and cardiopulmonary bypass pump to Mearnskirk Hospital, and also he set up one of the first pre-anaesthetic clinics in Scotland. He was Consultant-in-Charge of anaesthetic services for 1969-76 and Chairman of Division for 1976-79. A founder member of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Society of Anaesthetists, he served as its President for 1957-58. He was also President of the Scottish Society of Anaesthetists for 1970-71. In 1973 he was awarded Honorary FRCS by the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow.
Other biographical information
Described as a charismatic leader, he married Janet Fraser in 1940 and they had three children, one of whom became a pathologist. In retirement he continued his enjoyment of golf and gardening. Notably he passed further studies in Scottish Gaelic at higher level, recited the poetry of Burns and also read philosophy.
Author and sources
Author:
Dr Alistair McKenzie
Sources:
[1] Dr Grigor’s self submitted biographical college “Boulton form” dated 1988. [2] Macdonald A. Obituary. Annals Scottish Society of Anaesthetists. 2011; 52-54. The photograph is from the Archives of the Scottish Society of Anaesthetists with permission.