James Little

James Little (21 January 1837 – 23 December 1916) was an Irish medical practitioner. After spending an early part of his career as a ship's surgeon, surviving a shipwreck, he became chief physician at the Adelaide Hospital in Dublin and Regius Professor of Physic at Trinity College Dublin.

Early life Little was born in Newry, the son of Archibald Little and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Coulter. He was educated first at The Academy, Cookstown, County Tyrone and afterwards at The Royal School, Armagh. On leaving school, he became apprenticed to John Cohan, physician to the Armagh Fever Hospital and was also a pupil of Alexander Robinson, surgeon to the Armagh County Infirmary. In his diary, now held in the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), he records the decision to enter the medical profession:1853 – for some years past my attention has been directed to the medical profession – I now quietly sat down and made up my mind to go to it – a family council was held & the best bargain made for me to go to Dr. Cohan as an apprentice – so I went over to Armagh and was installed as his apprentice – I should certainly not have had the courage to do so were it but that it had already been agreed that he was to allow me to go to Dublin in the following November and I hope that Aunt's kindness will make the nine months bearable.

In November 1853, he entered the School of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), attending the hospital practice of the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, and also the clinics at the Whitworth and Richmond Hospitals. After he qualified, he was placed in charge of the Armagh County Infirmary, under Robinson and James Cuming, the then leading physician of Belfast.

Ship's surgeon From March 1857, he spent three years as ship's surgeon with P&O, on voyages to and from India. Unfortunately, Kirton steered a course which took the boat onto rocks off Pigeon Island, about 12 miles from Trincomalee.

Little's diary records his experience during the shipwreck, describing spending a night in an open boat before landing on shore the next morning. He then spent some time in a tent on the beach while the crew attempted to recover what they could from the wreck. )

He soon gained a reputation for his teaching, and was described as a "brilliant and attractive lecturer on the practice of medicine".

Publications In 1868, he was appointed editor of the Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science. As editor, Little introduced a series of half-yearly reports on the progress in various branches of medicine, including Medicine, Surgery, Hygiene, Therapeutics and Obstetrics. These reports now provide a very valuable summary of the history of developments in the respective branches of medicine. From January 1872, Little changed the journal from a quarterly to a monthly publication under the title, Dublin Journal of Medical Science. which was reprinted in the Dublin Journal of Medical Science in September 1885.

Appointments and honours In 1877, he was present at the inaugural meeting in Dublin which established the Dublin branch of the British Medical Association, proposing a resolution in favour of the project.

In 1898, he succeeded Sir John Banks, K.C.B., as Regius Professor of Physic in Trinity College Dublin, retaining this office until his death, taking a prominent part in the conduct of the Final Examinations in Medicine.

When the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland held its annual meeting in Dublin in 1909, Little occupied the position of president.

He also took a prominent part in the celebrations held in 1912 to commemorate the bicentenary of the Medical School of Trinity College Dublin. ) LL.D.(Hon.Causa) from the University of Edinburgh, and was appointed "Honorary Physician-In-Ordinary to H.M. The King in Ireland".

Personal life In 1872, he married Anna, daughter of Robert Murdoch, who predeceased him in 1914. They had three children, two sons and a daughter.

In January 1922, six years after his death, a bronze plaque with a portrait in bas-relief was erected in the Entrance Hall of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland by the Members and Fellows. At the unveiling, the Provost of Trinity spoke of "the respect and esteem in which Trinity College had ever held its professor of physic", and said that Little was "a good man as well as a great physician".