James Graham

Who was James Graham?

Sir James Graham was a Scottish-born physician and politician, active in Australia. He was Mayor of Sydney in 1901.

Graham was born in Edinburgh, son of Thomas Graham, marble polisher, and his wife Jane. Graham graduated M.A. at University of Edinburgh in 1879 and M.B. and C.M. in 1882. Graham migrated to Sydney in 1884 but then returned to Europe in August 1888 and studied at Berlin, Vienna and Paris. He obtained the M.D. degree of Edinburgh University and a gold medal for his thesis on "Hydatid Disease in its Clinical Aspects". Returning to Sydney he was appointed superintendent of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital which, largely by his influence, became an excellent training-ground for the medical profession. From 1897 he was lecturer in midwifery at the University of Sydney and held this position until 1912. He was founder of the Surgical Appliances Aid Society, the Crown Street Women's Hospital, the Trained Nurses' Association, and was the first president of the New South Wales Dental Board.

Graham was elected a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Sydney-Belmore in 1894 and held the seat until his defeat in 1901.