Francis Richard Fraser

Who was Francis Richard Fraser?

Sir Francis Richard Fraser was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Sir Thomas Richard Fraser, the Professor of Materia Medica at the University of Edinburgh and member of the Royal Society, and Susanna Margaret Duncan. After attending Edinburgh Academy and Christ's College at Cambridge University, Fraser received his medical training from the University of Edinburgh. He interned at the Royal Infirmary and the Hospital for Sick Children, both in Edinburgh. By chance, due to an illness of his father's, Fraser was asked to host a dinner in honor of Abraham Flexner. Flexner convinced Fraser to go to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in the United States for his postgraduate work.

While in the United States, Fraser worked on poliomyelitis and electrocardiographs with Rufus Cole, Simon Flexner and Alfred E. Cohn at the Rockefeller. He then went on to work with W. T. Longcope at Presbyterian Hospital. When World War I broke out, Fraser joined up with the Harvard Unit and returned to England.

In 1920 Fraser became Assistant Director of the Medical Unit at Saint Bartholomew's Hospital in London. When Archibald Garrod left the position of Director later that year to go to Oxford, Fraser was appointed to it. He remained at St. Bart's until 1934 when he was asked to become the first Professor of Medicine at the Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital. In 1939 Fraser was asked to join the Emergency Medical Services and soon was appointed Director General. For his work with the EMS and Hammersmith, Fraser was knighted in 1944.