John Nicolas Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant (16 September 1922 – 21 April 2016[1]) was a British neuroscientist, academic, and life peer who sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
The Lord Walton of Detchant | |
|---|---|
 In a House of Lords debate in 2015. | |
| President of the Royal Society of Medicine | |
| In office 1984–1986 | |
| Preceded by | Sir James Watt |
| Succeeded by | Sir Gordon Robson |
| Warden of Green College, Oxford | |
| In office 1983–1989 | |
| President of the General Medical Council | |
| In office 1982–1989 | |
| President of the British Medical Association | |
| In office 1980–1982 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Nicolas Walton 16 September 1922 |
| Died | 21 April 2016 (aged 93) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | None (crossbencher) |
| Alma mater | University of Durham Newcastle University |
| Awards | Knight Bachelor (1979) Life Peer (1989) Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters |
Life
editWalton qualified from Durham University College of Medicine and completed his MD at Newcastle Medical School.[2] Walton was President of the British Medical Association (BMA) from 1980 to 1982, President of the General Medical Council (GMC) 1982-89 and President of the Royal Society of Medicine from 1984 to 1986. He was also appointed second Warden of Green College, Oxford in 1983, where he stayed until 1989. Green College merged with Templeton College, Oxford in 2008 to become Green Templeton College, located on the site that was previously Green College.
Having been knighted in 1979,[3] Walton was created a life peer on 24 July 1989 as Baron Walton of Detchant, of Detchant in the County of Northumberland[4] and sat as a crossbencher. In 1992 he became a member of the Science and Technology Committee, leaving in 1996, returning in 1997 and leaving again in 2001. From 1993 to 1994 he was Chair of the Medical Ethics committee. He was Secretary of the Rare Diseases Group from 2009 until his death.
He was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[5] He was Patron of The Little Foundation, Honorary Life President of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Vice President of Parkinson's UK and Honorary Chairman of the United Kingdom Medical Students' Association (UKMSA).[citation needed]
He wrote an autobiography The Spice of Life: From Northumbria to World Neurology in 1993. It had 643 pages and, according to the review in the BMJ, “tells you absolutely everything [but] by the end of the book you really know nothing about him except that he has a colossal memory.” [6]
Death
editLord Walton of Detchant died on 21 April 2016, aged 93.[7]
Arms
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References
edit- ^ Notice of knighthood bestowed on John Nicholas Walton, the gazette.co.uk; accessed 27 April 2016.
- ^ "John Nicholas Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant". Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 47812". The London Gazette. 6 April 1979. p. 4623.
- ^ "No. 51823". The London Gazette. 27 July 1989. p. 8725.
- ^ "Gruppe 7: Medisinske fag" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ Smith, Richard (17 May 2020). "The best (and funniest) piece the BMJ published while I was the editor". Richard Smith's non-medical blogs. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Notice of death of Lord Walton of Detchant, parliament.uk; accessed 27 April 2016.
External links
edit- Profile, hansard.millbanksystems.com
- Profile, aim25.ac.uk
- Profile, dodonline.co.uk
- Profile, brookes.ac.uk
- Profile, nationalarchives.gov.uk
- Profile, ukmsa.org
- John Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant on the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website
- Portraits of John Walton, Baron Walton of Detchant at the National Portrait Gallery, London
