Sir Alexander Ogston KCVO FRS CM MD (19 April 1844 – 1 February 1929) was a British surgeon, famous for his discovery of Staphylococcus. He was the eldest son of Prof. Francis Ogston (1803–1887), Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Aberdeen.
University of Aberdeen
Ogston began his medical training at Marischal College in 1862 and graduated in 1865 with honours in medicine and surgery at the age of 21. He obtained his MD a year later in 1866. He was appointed as a full surgeon to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in 1874. He was Assistant Professor of Medical Jurisprudence and Materia Medica, Lecturer in Ophthalmology and Anaesthetist before being appointed as Regius Professor of Surgery in 1882. He is credited with the introduction of carbolic spray to Aberdeen.
Military Career
Ogston served in the 1884 Egyptian War and the Boer War. He was also instrumental in arguing for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1898. During the First World War when over seventy years old, he was sent to assist with the management of severe trauma.
Royal acknowledgement
In 1892, Queen Victoria appointed him Surgeon in Ordinary, a post he also held under King Edward VII and King George V. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1912.
Legacy
The Surgical Society of the University of Aberdeen is named the "Ogston Society" in his honour. The University Department of Surgery also awards an annual prize in his honour to the best student in surgery.