Dr Gerald Wilson Black
Personal Details
Dr Gerald Wilson Black MD PhD FFARCS FFARCSI FRCPI DA
05/02/1925 to 10/07/2019
Place of birth: Belfast
Nationality: British
CRN: 493730
Education and qualifications
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General education |
School not identified; Queen’s University, Belfast |
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MBBChBAO, Belfast, 1949 |
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Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Examination |
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Year of Fellowship |
1955 |
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Other qualification(s) |
DA, RCPSI, 1952; MD, Belfast, 1959 (Thesis: Some observations on the cardio-vascular effects of halothane in normal man; FFARCSI, 1961; PhD, Belfast, 1969 (Thesis: Sympatho-adrenal, circulatory, respiratory, and metabolic responses to halogenated anaesthetics; MRCPI, 1969 (F 1974) |
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Also known as |
Gerry |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
No details of early posts have been established, but by 1953 Black was registrar in anaesthetics at Belfast’s City Hospital. He was subsequently registrar (1954-7) & SR (1957-9) at the Royal Victoria Hospital, then research associate in Pennsylvania before becoming a consultant to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1961, an appointment he held until retirement in 1990.
Professional interests and activities
Described as a dedicated and delightful colleague, he was known for using his sense of humour to defuse tense moments in the operating theatre. Recognising, at the time of his apppiontment, the need for more intensive management of critically ill children he led the development of paediatric intensive care in Northern Ireland. Founder member of the APA, he was its president (1981-3) and awarded honorary membership (1995). Beyond his sub-specialty he was dean of the Irish faculty (1982-5) and vice president of the AAGBI. Through research, publication and presentations his long interest in volatile anaesthetics established him as an international authority, Queen’s University appointing him to an honorary lectureship in 1986.
Other biographical information
Married to Dorothy (an ophthalmologist who pre-deceased him), they had two daughters. Interests included golf, travel, history, rugby & cricket.
Author and sources
Author:
Prof Tony Wildsmith
Sources and comments:
[1] Obituary. Crean P. https://www.apagbi.org.uk/sites/default/files/inline-files/DR%20G%20W%20BLACK%20Final.pdf [2] Medical Directory [3] Thanks to Prof Rajinder Mirakhur for help with thesis information [4] A photo may be seen at BMJ 2020;369:m2425