GD39 Haldane Tait, Principal Medical Officer

Collection Summary


Reference Code: GB239 GD39
Title:  Tait, Haldane
Dates of Creation of Material:1839-1990
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 3 metres:  papers


Name of creator(s): Haldane Tait (1911-1990), Principal Medical Officer
Biographical History:  Dr Haldane Philip Tait MD, FRCP (Edin.), FFCM, DPH was the Principal Medical Officer for the Child Health Service, Edinburgh and helped found the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine(SSHM) in 1948 at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. As the first Secretary of the Society he was in charge of its organisation and held the position for fifteen years, before becoming a joint Secretary for several years after that. He was awarded the title ‘Honorary President of the Society’ in 1981 and it now holds an annual ‘Haldane Tait Memorial’ lecture and dinner in honour of him.

His most significant contribution to the Society was the Annual Report of Proceedings which, in later years, was published for international distribution to libraries and similar organisations to the SSHM. When it could not be published as such, a succinct version was issued in Medical History. 

His interests in the history of medicine lead him to publish a number of articles and books. These include A Doctor and Two Policemen. (Edinburgh: Mackenzie and Storrie Ltd, 1974), which details the history of the Edinburgh Health Department from its creation in 1862 to its dissolution in 1974, and Dr Elsie Maud Inglis (1864-1917): a great lady doctor. (Edinburgh: Bridgend Press, 1964).

Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: David Wright (friend of Haldane Tait)


Scope and Content:  Books, reports, pamphlets, journals, exam papers, correspondence 1839-1990; press cuttings 1900-1976; photographs 1860s-1937
Accruals: No further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement:  Original order


Conditions Governing Access: None
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English
Related units of description:

Public Health Department of the City of Edinburgh (LHB16)

Professor Robert William Johnstone (GD11)


Publication Note:

Tait, H. P. A Doctor and Two Policemen: The History of Edinburgh Health Department, 1862-1974. Edinburgh: Mackenzie and Storrie Ltd, 1974.

Archivists' Notes: Compiled by Alison Scott
Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000
Date(s) of Description: March 2010; updated January 2011