SACRED LEGACY ARCHIVES™

James Black

1924-06-14 – 2010-03-22

Sir James Black (1924-2010). Between 1978 and 1984, Black was Director of Thereapeutic Research at the Wellcome Research Laboratories.Credit: Unknown author

Life & Legacy

Sir James Whyte Black born (14 June 1924 – Died 22 March 2010) was a Scottish physician and pharmacologist. Together with Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings, he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 for pioneering strategies for rational drug-design, which, in his case, led to the development of propranolol and cimetidine. Black established a Veterinary Physiology department at the University of Glasgow, where he became interested in the effects of adrenaline on the human heart. He went to work for ICI Pharmaceuticals in 1958 and, while there, developed propranolol, a beta blocker used for the treatment of heart disease. Black was also responsible for the development of cimetidine, an H2 receptor antagonist, a drug used to treat stomach ulcers.

Occupation & Career

physician, pharmacologist, pharmacist, inventor, cardiologist, university teacher, chemist

Education

University of St Andrews; University of Dundee; Beath High School

Accomplishments, Inventions & Publications

InBev-Baillet Latour Health Prize; Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award; Canada Gairdner International Award; Wolf Prize in Medicine; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Royal Medal; Scheele Award; Order of Merit; Knight Bachelor; Cameron Prize of the University of Edinburgh; honorary doctorate of the University of Salamanca; Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London; Fellow of the Royal Society; Ellison–Cliffe Lecture; Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons; John Scott Award; Mullard Award

Legacy Highlights

Honors & Awards

Cameron Prize of the University of Edinburgh · Canada Gairdner International Award · Ellison–Cliffe Lecture · Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London · Fellow of the Royal Society · Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh · honorary doctorate of the University of Salamanca · Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons · InBev-Baillet Latour Health Prize · John Scott Award · Knight Bachelor · Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award · Mullard Award · Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine · Order of Merit · Royal Medal · Scheele Award · Wolf Prize in Medicine