Ernest Septimus Reynolds

Ernest Septimus Reynolds FRCP (7 April 1861 – 22 May 1926) was emeritus professor of clinical medicine at the University of Manchester. In 1900 he wrote "An Epidemic of Peripheral Neuritis Amongst Beer Drinkers in Manchester and District" for the British Medical Journal, the first of a series of papers which caused a national sensation when they revealed the presence of dangerous levels of arsenic in local beer.

Early life and family Reynolds was born in Manchester on 7 April 1861, the son of J.H. Reynolds. He received his early education at the Manchester Commercial Schools and Owens College, and subsequently completed the Victoria BSc prior to entering medicine. He won the Platt physiological exhibition and qualified from the University of London in 1883. In 1891, he became honorary physician at the Ancoats Hospital and physician to the Manchester Workhouse Infirmary, a position he held for some time. In 1892 he became lecturer in hygiene at the Lancashire County Council. he retired from the university as emeritus professor. The conclusion did not come easily, and there were many confounding factors. In 1901, he co-authored along with Ronald Ross, an article demonstrating a similarity between beriberi and alcoholic neuritis, and "it seemed that some of the beriberi cases might also be due to arsenic poisoning".

Described as private and even externally cool, Reynolds could be passionate about causes in which he believed strongly. Among these were the need for physicians not to rely too much on technology at the expense of close observation of the patient at the bedside when making a diagnosis, and the National Insurance Act 1911 to which he was vehemently opposed and against which he spoke at a public rally.

Death and legacy Reynolds died on 22 May 1926 from "acute influenzal pneumonia". He received an obituary of over two pages in the British Medical Journal

Selected publications A Primer of Hygiene. Macmillan, London, 1894. Hygiene for Beginners. Macmillan, London, 1896. "An Epidemic of Peripheral Neuritis Amongst Beer Drinkers in Manchester and District", British Medical Journal, 24 November 1900, pp. 1492–1493. "The Epidemic of Peripheral Neuritis traced to arsenical contamination of beer-making materials", British Medical Journal, 1 December 1900, pp. 1587–1594. "Further observations on epidemic arsenical peripheral neuritis", British Medical Journal, 22 December 1900, pp. 1769–1771. "Bradshaw Lecture on the Causes of Disease", The Lancet, Vol. 190, No. 4915 (10 November 1917), pp. 703–709. "Causes of Nervous Diseases", The Lancet, 23 October 1920.