Francis Brodie Imlach

Francis Brodie Imlach (1819-1891) was a Scottish pioneer of modern dentistry, and the first person to use chloroform on a dental patient. He helped to raise the profile of dentistry from a back street trade to full professional status.

Born in Edinburgh in 1819, he was the son of George Imlach WS, an Edinburgh lawyer, with offices at 10 St Andrew Square.

Became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1841 and was raised to Fellow in 1856. He thereafter acted as Examiner to students.

In 1860, together with Dr John Smith and Dr Robert Orphoot he co-founded the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary at 1 Drummond Street.

He had his main dental practice at 48 Queen Street, a very prestigious address both then and now, and only a few doors from James Young Simpson's offices at 52 Queen Street.

He was one of only two dentists to ever become President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh (RCSE). He served from 1879 to 1881. He also served as President of the Royal Scottish Society of the Arts 1887-89.

Whilst James Young Simpson is credited with the first use of chloroform on a human, he did not invent it. Simpson’s first such use, on the evening of 4 November 1847, was on himself and two doctor friends, at a dinner party. This was followed 4 days later by Simpson’s first use on a patient, Wilhelmina Carstairs, the daughter of a doctor. Imlach holds the claim to fame of the first use of chloroform in a dental context. This, on the afternoon of 11 November 1847, was used to help a tooth extraction on a fellow dentist, James Darsie Morrison. As Simpson was a friend of Imlach, it is possible (but not recorded) that Imlach may have been present at the original event.

He collapsed whilst walking on Christmas Eve 1891 and died before reaching hospital.

He is buried on the largely unseen southern lower terrace of Dean Cemetery, towards its eastern end. The large bronze plaque to his memory has been stolen.

He married Marion Ainslie and had several sons, including Archibald Francis Imlach (1852-1903) and a daughter, Agnes Campbell Imlach (1849-1916) who became a portrait artist of note. Archibald Francis Imlach is buried on the north side of the Dean Cemetery with his daughter Marion Ainslie Imlach.

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