Henry Matthew

Biography

Dr Henry Matthew has come to be known as the “father of clinical toxicology” due to his original research and numerous additions to the Scottish poisons information database. After graduating from the Edinburgh Medical School in 1937, Matthew worked in the Royal Infirmary and gained his Fellowship, working as Registrar and Secretary of the RCPE from 1954 to 1958 and advising on the RCPE Council from 1960 to 1963. In 1964, Matthew was tasked with leading the new Regional Poisoning Treatment Centre, treating high numbers of poisoned patients every day. Matthew published considerable research on toxicology in letters, papers and an invaluable pocket-sized handbook, Treatment of Common Acute Poisonings.

Details

• Date of interview: June 1996
• Archive reference: OBJ/ORA/1/27
• Interviewer: Martin Eastwood