THE date was November 4, 1847, and the place was 52 Queen Street in the New Town of Edinburgh, one of the grand but discreet houses lining that thoroughfare with an outlook over the distant hills to the north.
It was the home of James Young Simpson, surgical superstar at the capital’s university. Born in 1811, this son of the baker of Bathgate in West Lothian was by professorial standards still a young and humble fellow, candidly God-fearing, too. At least he kept a cheerful peasant’s look about him and believed in the health-giving virtues of red wine.
