Biography of John Glaister Jnr

John Glaister Jnr (1892-1971) was Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine and Public Health at the University, 1931 to 1962.

Glaister was the son of John Glaister (1856-1932), the Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University from 1899 to 1931. He studied at the University, graduating MB, ChB in 1916, and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Palestine during the First World War before returning to Glasgow to enter private practice and to become an assistant to his father at the University. He was awarded an MD in 1925 and a DSc in 1927, when he was called to the Bar. In 1928, Glaister was briefly a lecturer in the Department of Forensic Medicine before his appointment as Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Egypt and medico-legal adviser to the Egyptian government. He succeeded his father to the Regius Chair at Glasgow in 1931.

With an international reputation as a forensic pathologist, serologist, and expert on hairs and fibres, Glaister became an adviser to the Glasgow police and was in great demand as an expert witness in cases of murder and violent assault. He published a number of important works on medico-legal subjects and was best known for revising and improving (with his University colleague Dr Edgar Rentoul) Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, a textbook first published by his father and which appeared in twelve editions.

Summary

John Glaister Jnr
Forensic Scientist
Born 31 May 1892.
Died 4 October 1971.
University Link: Alumnus, Lecturer, Professor
GU Degrees: MB ChB, 1916; MD, 1925; 1927;
Occupation categories: forensic scientists; lawyers; physicians
NNAF Reference: GB/NNAF/P190722
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Record last updated: 28th Sep 2010

University Connections

University Roles

• Alumnus
• Lecturer
• Professor

Academic Posts

Professorships:

• Forensic Medicine (Regius Chair)

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John Glaister Jnr