Douglas Black

Sir Douglas Andrew Kilgour Black, (1913–2002) was a physician in the United Kingdom, famous as the author of the Black Report.

He was born in Shetland in 1913, and studied medicine at the Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews, graduating with MB ChB in 1933.

He conducted research into water loss and dehydration, first at Oxford University, and then at the University of Manchester, where he became Professor of Medicine in 1959.

In 1974 he became the first Chief Scientist at the Department of Health and Social Security of the UK Government. From 1977 - 1983 he was President of the Royal College of Physicians.He also served as the President of British Medical Association and earned himself a lot of respect by taking an uncompromising stand against the apartheid regime in South Africa.

In the 1970s Black was asked by the Labour government of the UK to chair an expert committee to investigate health inequalities. The report produced by this committee, popularly known as "The Black Report" was published in 1980. Although unpopular with the then Conservative government, it has had a major impact on knowledge on the subject of health inequality since that time, and was published by Penguin Books as Inequalities in Health: The Black Report and the Health Divide in 1982.

Later, Black chaired the UK government investigation into childhood leukaemia around the Nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield, Cumbria, UK.

Black was created a Knight Bachelor in 1973, and a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1989.

References

• RCP Presidents

External links

• BMJ Obituary of Sir Douglas Black:"Sir Douglas Black: Professor of medicine whose famous report on inequality and health fell foul of the Thatcher government".
• Obituary at the Guardian 14 September 2002: "Sir Douglas Black: A giant in many fields of medical research, he played a crucial role in shaping the NHS".

Academic offices
Preceded by Sir Cyril Clarke	President of the Royal College of Physicians 1977–1982	Succeeded by Raymond Hoffenberg

Persondata
Name	Black, Douglas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1913
Place of birth
Date of death	2002
Place of death