Sir William Richard Shaboe Doll CH OBE FRS (28 October 1912–24 July 2005) was a British physiologist who became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th century, turning the subject into a rigorous science. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems. With Ernst Wynder, Bradford Hill and Evarts Graham, he was the first in the modern world to prove that smoking caused lung cancer and increased the risk of heart disease. German researchers had established this association in the 1930s, although that work was not widely appreciated until recently (Robert Proctor, The Nazi War on Cancer, 1999). He also did pioneering work on the relationship between radiation and leukemia as well as that between asbestos and lung cancer, and alcohol and breast cancer. The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Physiology (in Greek physis = nature and logos = word) is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms. ... Epidemiology (Greek epi = upon, among; demos = people, district; logos = word, discourse), defined literally, is the study of epidemics in humans. ... The cigarette is the most common method of smoking tobacco. ... Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ... Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of different diseases which affect the heart and as of 2007 it is the leading cause of death in the United States. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... For other uses, see Asbestos (disambiguation). ... Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ...

Biography

Doll was born at Hampton into an affluent family, though his father's work as a doctor was cut short by multiple sclerosis. Educated first at Westminster School, Doll originally then intended (against the wishes of his parents that he become a doctor like his father) to study mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. Doll failed the mathematics scholarship from the effects of drinking too much of the College's own-brewed beer the night before.^[1] He subsequently chose to study medicine at St Thomas' Hospital Medical School from where he graduated in 1937. Doll was a socialist, and one of the significant figures in the Socialist Medical Association whose campaign helped lead to the creation of Britain's postwar National Health Service. He joined the Royal College of Physicians after the outbreak of World War II and served for much of the war as a part of the Royal Army Medical Corps on a hospital ship as a medical specialist. Hampton is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. ... The Royal College of St Peter at Westminster (almost always known as Westminster School) is one of Britains leading boys independent schools and one of the nine public schools set out in the Public Schools Act 1868. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names King’s Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... St Thomas Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. It was part of St Thomas Hospital which was established in 1173. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Founded in 1930, in order to campaign for a National Health Service in United Kingdom, as the Socialist Medical Association. ... “NHS” redirects here. ... College building by Denys Lasdun The Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical institution in England was founded in 1518 and is one of the most active of all medical professional organisations. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. ...

After the war, Doll returned to St Thomas' to research asthma. In 1948 he joined a research team under Dr Francis Avery-Jones at the Central Middlesex Hospital, run under the auspices of the statistical research unit of the Medical Research Council. Over a 21 year career in the unit, Doll rose to become its director. His research there initially consisted of disproving the then-held belief that peptic ulceration was caused by heavy responsibility, but instead stress. In 1950, he then undertook with Austin Bradford Hill a study of lung cancer patients in 20 London hospitals, at first under the belief that it was due to the new material tarmac, or motor car fumes, but rapidly discovering that tobacco smoking was the only factor they had in common. Doll himself stopped smoking as a result of his findings, published in the British Medical Journal in 1950, which concluded; Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Central Middlesex hospital is a teaching hospital of Imperial College and part of the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust. ... Current MRC logo The Medical Research Council (MRC) is a UK organisation dedicated to promot[ing] the balanced development of medical and related biological research in the UK. // The MRC is one of seven Research Councils and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Office of Science and Innovation... A benign gastric ulcer (from the antrum) of a gastrectomy specimen. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Austin Bradford Hill (July 8, 1897 - April 18, 1991), English epidemiologist and statistician, pioneered the randomized clinical trial and, together with Richard Doll, was the first to demonstrate the connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. ... A close-up view of some freshly-laid tarmac. ... The cigarette is the most common method of smoking tobacco. ... The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is a medical journal published weekly in the United Kingdom by the British Medical Association (BMA)which published its first issue in 1845. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

"The risk of developing the disease increases in proportion to the amount smoked. It may be 50 times as great among those who smoke 25 or more cigarettes a day as among non-smokers."

Four years later, in 1954 the British doctors study, a study of some 40 thousand doctors over 20 years, confirmed the suggestion, based on which the government issued advice that smoking and lung cancer rates were related. Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British doctors study is the generally accepted name of a prospective clinical trial which has been running from 1951 to 2001, and in 1956 provided convincing statistical proof that tobacco smoking increased the risk of lung cancer. ...

In 1966 Doll was elected to the Royal Society. The citation stated: The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...

Doll is distinguished for his researches in epidemiology & particularly the epidemiology of cancer where in the last 10 years he has played a prominent part in (a) elucidating the causes of lung cancer in industry (asbestos, nickel & coal tar workers) & more generally, in relation to cigarette smoking, and (b) in the investigation of leukaemia particularly in relation to radiation, where using the mortality of patients treated with radiotherapy he has reached a quantitative estimate of the leukaemogenic effects of such radiation. In clinical medicine he has made carefully controlled trials of treatments for gastric ulcer. He has been awarded the United Nations prize for outstanding research into the causes & control of cancer & the Bisset Hawkins medal of the Royal College of Physicians for his contributions to preventative medicine A 1930 Soviet poster propagating breast care. ...

In 1969, Doll moved to Oxford University, to sit as the Regius Professor of Medicine, succeeding the clinical researcher Sir George Pickering. Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... The University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. ... The Regius Professor of Medicine is an appointment held at the University of Oxford. ...

Initially, epidemiology was held in low regard, but in his time at Oxford he helped reverse this. He was the primary agent behind the creation of Green College, from where he retired in 1983. Green College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

Doll also helped found the National Blood Service, and was key in avoiding a system of paying donors for their blood, as had been adopted in the United States. His continued work into carcinogens at the Imperial Cancer Research Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, working as part of the Clinical Trial Service Unit, notably including a study undertaken with Sir Richard Peto, in which it was estimated that tobacco, along with infections and diet, caused between then three quarters of all cancers, which was the basis of much of the World Health Organisation's conclusions on environmental pollution and cancer. The National Blood Service is the organisation for England and North Wales which collects blood (and other tissue) tests, process’s, and supplies all the hospitals in England and North Wales. ... The hazard symbol for carcinogenic chemicals in the Globally Harmonized System. ... The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, UK. It is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University, and as such is a well developed centre of medical research. ... Sir Richard Peto, FRS (born 1943) is Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford. ... For other meanings of the acronym WHO, see WHO (disambiguation) WHO flag Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. ...

Doll was Knighted in 1971, and made a Companion of Honour in 1996 for "services of national importance". He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, awarded the Presidential Award of the New York Academy of Sciences as well as a UN Award for his research into cancer. In April 2005, he was awarded the Saudi Arabian King Faisal International Prize for medicine jointly with Peto for their work on diseases related to smoking. He was also awarded honorary degrees by thirteen different universities. The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... New York Academy of Sciences is a society of some 20,000 scientists of all disciplines from 150 countries. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. ... An honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum, not to be confused with an honors degree) is an academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

He died on 24 July 2005, at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford after a short illness. is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, UK. It is the main teaching hospital for Oxford University, and as such is a well developed centre of medical research. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ...

Controversy

After his death, controversy arose over some of his work because his papers, held at the Wellcome Foundation Library, showed that for many years he had received consultancy payments from chemical companies whose products he was to defend in court. These include US$1,500 per day consultancy fee from Monsanto for a relationship which began in 1976 and continued until 2002. He also received fees from the Chemical Manufacturers Association, Dow Chemicals, and ICI. Some donations, including a £50,000 gift from asbestos company Turner and Newall, were given in public ceremony to Green College Oxford where his wife was Warden, but most fees and payments remained undisclosed to the public, Oxford University and colleagues until his death. His defenders point out that his connections to industry were widely known by those in the field, that he did his work before formal disclosure of commercial interests became commonplace and that on occasion, he came to conclusions that were unpalatable to the companies who consulted him. His own view, as reported by Richard Peto, was that it was necessary to co-operate with companies for access to data which could prove their products to be dangerous.^[2][3][4] The Wellcome Trusts Gibbs Building on Euston Road The Wellcome Trust is a United Kingdom-based charity established in 1936 to administer the fortune of the American-born pharmaceutical magnate Sir Henry Wellcome. ... The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. ... The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW TYO: 4850 ) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan. ... ICI can refer to: Imperial Chemical Industries PLC. The ICI programming language. ...

References

1. ^ McKie, Robin (7 July 2002). "Profile: Richard Doll". The Observer. Retrieved on 2006-12-13. 
2. ^ The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) Renowned cancer scientist was paid by chemical firm for 20 years 8 December 2006
3. ^ BBC Industry 'paid top cancer expert' 8 December 2006
4. ^ The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) Expert revered for painstaking work that proved link between smoking and cancer

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

• Doll, Richard; and Hill, A. Bradford (30 September 1950). "Smoking and carcinoma of the lung. Preliminary report". British Medical Journal 2 (4682): 739-748. PMID 14772469. 
• Doll, Richard; and F. Avery Jones (1951). Occupational Factors in the Aetiology of Gastric and Duodenal Ulcers, With an Estimate of Their Incidence in the General Population. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 
• Doll, Richard; and Hill, A. Bradford (26 June 1954). "The mortality of doctors in relation to their smoking habits. A preliminary report". British Medical Journal (4877): 1451-55. PMID 13160495. 
• Doll, Richard (Fall 2002). "Proof of causality: deduction from epidemiological observation". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 45 (4): 499-515. PMID 12388883. 
• Doll, Richard; et al. (26 June 2004). "Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years' observations on male British doctors". British Medical Journal 328 (7455): 1519. PMID 15213107. 
• Proctor, Robert N. (1999). The Nazi War on Cancer. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00196-0. 

is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Source

• Royal Society nomination

External links

• Richard Doll, An Epidemiologist Gone Awry
• Richard Doll Building by Nicholas Hare Architects LLP
• BBC News obituary Sir Richard Doll: A life's research
• BBC Experts Examined - Sir Richard Doll
• The Times obituary
• Associated Press obituary
• The Independent obituary
• Godfather of Anti-smoking Movement Dies At 92
• Interview with Richard Doll
• Images from The National Portrait Gallery
• The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) Expert revered for painstaking work that proved link between smoking and cancer
• The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) Company paid for published review
• The Guardian (Sarah Boseley) Intervention in Vietnam inquiry