Charles Cathcart

Charles Walker Cathcart, CBE, MB CM, FRCSEd, FRCSE (16 March 1853 – 22 February 1932) was a Scottish surgeon who worked for most of his career at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE). As a young man he had represented Scotland at rugby on three occasions. During the First World War he jointly published an account of the value of sphagnum moss as a wound dressing which led to its widespread use by the British Army for that purpose. As conservator of the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) he enlarged the museum accommodation, expanded the museum collection with the addition of over 1,300 new specimens and a large collection of histological slides. His creation of the first comprehensive catalogue of the museum collection greatly enhanced its value as a teaching and research resource. His textbook A Surgical Handbook, written jointly with Francis Caird and first published in 1889, became a best seller running to 19 editions by 1921. Early life Charles Walker Cathcart was born in Edinburgh on 16 March 1853, the son of James Cathcart, a Leith wine merchant and his wife Helen (née Weir). He attended Loretto School, Musselburgh, where he was captain of the school rugby team. From school he went on to take an arts course at the University of Edinburgh, which included classes in logic and philosophy and he graduated MA in 1873. Cathcart then entered the university medical school and graduated MB CM in 1878. As an undergraduate he represented the university at rugby and in athletics at Scottish Inter-University sports competitions.