Patrick Manson

Patrick Manson was a son of Alexander Manson and Elizabeth Livingstone Blaikie, born at Oldmeldrum, eighteen miles north of Aberdeen. His father was manager of the local branch of the British Linen Bank and Laird of Fingask. His mother was distant relative of the famed Christian missionary-explorer David Livingstone. He was the second son of a family of three boys and four girls. He developed a childhood passion in natural history, fishing, shooting, carpentry, mechanics and cricket. Among his Presbyterian-Christian family, he showed excellent memory for memorising church sermons at the age of five years.

In 1857 his family moved to Aberdeen, where he entered Gymnasium School. He later continued at West End Academy. In 1859 he was apprenticed to Blaikie Brothers, ironmasters based in Aberdeen. However, he was struck by a type of tuberculosis called Pott's disease of the spine which forced him to take rest. In 1860 he entered the University of Aberdeen from where he completed medicine course in 1865. He was only nineteen and was underage for graduation, so he visited hospitals, museums and medical schools in London. Finally of age he formally graduated in October 1865, and was appointed Medical Officer at Durham Lunatic Asylum, where he worked for seven months. He performed 17 postmortem dissections on patients with psychiatric illnesses for his thesis. In 1866 he received the degrees of Master of Surgery, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Law.

In 1876, he married Henrietta Isabella Thurbun, with whom he had three sons and one daughter.

His daughter Edith Margaret Manson (1879–1948) married Philip Henry Bahr, one of Manson's pupils at the London School of Tropical medicine. Sir Philip Manson-Bahr CMG DSO MD FRCP (Lond) (1881–1966) became a leader in the field of tropical medicine in his own right.

Manson's grandson, Prof (Philip Edmund) Clinton Manson-Bahr (1911–1996) was a consultant in Tropical Medicine and latterly he was Professor of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, New Orleans. He won the Manson Medal in 1995. It is the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine's highest mark of distinction for contributions to tropical medicine, and is awarded triennially. Manson's great-grandson Dr Gordon Manson-Bahr was a general practitioner in Norfolk, UK for most of his medical career. Manson's great-great-grandson, Mr David Manson-Bahr FRCS, is a urologist in Norwich, UK.

Manson's grandfather (John Manson of Kilblean 1762–1838) and his great-uncle (Alexander Manson b. 1778) founded the Glen Garioch Whisky distillery in 1797, which still operates in Oldmeldrum to this day.

'Manson Road' in Oldmeldrum was named in his honour.