(Dbituarg.

The Late James Christie, A.M., M.D.

We regret to announce the death of a member of the profession who, while well known here, had also a wider reputation?we refer to Dr. James Christie, till November last the Medical Officer of Health for Hillhead. He died on 2nd January. Dr. Christie was born in Strathaven in May, 1829, and was educated in the University of Glasgow, passing through the Arts course at the time when Professor Edward Caird, Professor John Nichol, Professor Jack, Dr. T. C. Finlayson of Manchester, the late Dr. J. M. Ross of Edinburgh, Dr. Service of Glasgow, and Dr. James Brown of Paisley, were students here. He

graduated as Bachelor of Arts at our University, proceeding to the Divinity Hall of the Evangelical Union denomination.

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He was ordained in 1856; but a weakness in his throat led to his abandoning this profession. He kept up a certain connection with the Evangelical Union, but in later years, on the settle- ment of his friend Dr. Service at Hyndland, he was naturally drawn to his ministry there. Taking his degree of M.A. in 1857, and leaving divinity,

Dr. Christie took to the study of medicine, his degree of Doctor of Medicine being obtained at Glasgow in 1860. He was a resident assistant in the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and was also associated with the late Dr. Pagan in the work of the University Maternity Hospital; it was probably by Dr. Pagan's influence and advice that Dr. Christie became a resident assistant at our asylum at Gartnavel soon after his graduation. His first contribution to medical literature was in this depart- ment?a paper on

" Suicidal Impulse "

appearing in the Glasgow Medical Journal in 1864. He continued to take special interest in cases of insanity and in our asylum here, till the close of his career. After leaving asylum work he proceeded to Africa in 1865, and held the appointment as Physician to His High- ness the Sultan of Zanzibar for about ten years. While there he acquired personal experience of various tropical disorders, which enabled him to speak with authority on some rare diseases prevalent there, and also on some of the great epidemics. A joint-production of his with Capt. H. A. Fraser and Bishop Tozer appeared in London in 1871 on The East African Slave Trade and the Measures Proposed for its Abolition. While at Zanzibar he became acquainted with Dr. Livingstone, and it is said that Dr. Christie was the last white man the great traveller saw on his departure for his final exploration. The servant who embalmed Livingstone's body was one who had worked under Dr. Christie, and had probably acquired technical knowledge with him sufficient to enable him to do so. Returning to Glasgow about 1875, Dr. Christie began

practice here, and produced in 1876 a book by which he became widely known, Cholera Epidemics in East Africa: an Account of the Several Diffusions of the Disease from 1821 till 1872 (London, 1876). In 1876 he was appointed one of the surgeons to the out-patient department of the

Gasgow Western Infirmary, and he continued his connection with this institution till now, being transferred a few years ago to more congenial work as an assistant physician there. On the death of the late Dr. Dobbie of Hillhead, in the

beginning of 1878, Dr. Christie succeeded to his practice there, at the same time removing to his residence in Bank Street, where he remained till his death. Here he had a

126 Obituary.

pretty extensive general practice; but his literary tastes and unobstrusive manners kept him back, as compared with others, in the whirl of practice, so that he found time for the cultiva- (

tion of other work, for which perhaps he had more special aptitude. His special aptitudes, indeed, lay rather on the borders of literature, as he had great facility in writing and literary expression. He wrote the medical articles for the

Globe Gyclopcedia, which was edited by his old fellow-student, Dr. J. Merry Ross. More recently his literary activity found an outlet in editing the Sanitary Journal, a periodical founded in Glasgow in 1876; it has been under the editorship of Dr. Christie since June of that year. The study of cholera had naturally directed Dr. Christie's mind to sanitary subjects, and he had written various articles on sanitary matters in the Glasgow Medical Journal. He was regarded as an authority on many sanitary questions, and was frequently called as a witness or a referee in legal cases of this kind. His work as editor of the Sanitary Journal brought him into relationship with most of the leading sanitary authorities not only in this country, but throughout Europe and America, and also in

India, where his African connection made him well known. His special knowledge of tropical diseases led to his being

asked to write the articles on some of these subjects in Dr. M'Call Anderson's Treatise on Skin Diseases (1887). Another little production of his pen, on which he had expended much time, was " On Epidemics of Dengue Fever: their Diffusion and Etiology." This appeared in the Glasgoiv Medical Journal in 1881. It has a special interest at the present time, when various authorities allege the relationship, or the identity, of our prevalent influenza with this peculiar disease. Dr. Christie had, however, a more ambitious project in his mind, and so far in hand, in connection with " dengue." He aimed at compiling or summarising all the published works on the subject, but the almost insuperable difficulties in accomplishing this in

Glasgow, or even anywhere in this country, prevented its ever being brought to a completion. In connection with sanitary work, to which he was so much attached, Dr. Christie was appointed many years a lecturer on public health in Anderson's College, the duties of the post, in the apathy existing then, being almost nominal. His connection with Anderson's College led him to come forward to fill a vacancy in the Chair of

Physiology there, a post which he continued" to hold till 1891.

Beginning to teach such a subject at his age, it need scarcely be said that his success in such a position could not be very brilliant. He introduced, however, a new feature in this

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course by securing the services of specialists to give a few lectures each to his students on the physiology of special organs. At the time of his death he held the appointments in the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons*of examiner in

physiology and also in psychological medicine. He was like- wise an examiner in arts for the preliminary examination. Dr. Christie took an active part in the arrangements for the

meeting of the British Medical Association in Glasgow, in 1888, and in connection with this visit he published in our pages a series of articles on the " Medical Institutions of Glasgow," which contains some data interesting as local history. This was also published separately as a volume. More than a year ago Dr. Christie's health was known to

be bad; but about that time alarming attacks of angina pectoris occurred with such violence that it seemed doubtful if he would ever resume medical work. His naturally calm temperament came to his aid and he rallied; but in spring time again other complications supervened, which seemed to preclude hope. Again, however, he improved, and last summer and autumn he might be seen going about and conducting examinations in Glasgow or Edinburgh as if little or nothing were amiss. But the disorder was only in abeyance; and from the beginning of this winter fresh complications appeared, confining him almost entirely to his house, and leading on to the fatal result. Even in his seclusion he occupied his time in revising the last, if not the current, number of his Sanitary Journal for the press.

Dr. Christie was a corresponding member of the Medical and Physical Society of Bombay; an Associate of the Society of Hygiene of France; Secretary of the Epidemiological Society of London for the District of the Indian Ocean and East Africa; and a number of various other learned societies. His character and his work appear, so far, from the preceding notes. Of a cultured mind, and somewhat dignified manners, his carefully guarded phraseology always ensured considerable attention to his utterances in meetings or in debate; although, as already stated, his greatest weight was probably in the literary form. This, and his varied experiences in tropical regions, must cause his death to be felt as a distinct loss to the profession and the community at large.