Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt belongs to the medical record as a figure whose work changed what could be treated.
The record lists Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt as New Zealand viceroy, physician, athlete (1900-1994).
Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt was born at Whanganui in 1900. His recorded nationality is New Zealand. He trained at Magdalen College and University of Otago.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, laboratory medicine, vaccines and public health began to change mortality at population scale.
The recorded fields of work are medicine, surgery and sports medicine.
Medicine advances against a moving target, and its successes are counted in lives rather than papers.
Recognition followed: Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.
That the work was done from New Zealand matters: hospitals, training and research funding are unevenly distributed, and they decide which questions can be asked.
Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt died in 1994, aged 94. What survives is the change in practice, which is how a medical life is actually measured.
Achievements
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Fields: medicine, surgery and sports medicine
