{{Short description|British veterinarian and inventor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''John Gamgee''' (1831–1894) was a British veterinarian and inventor. He specialised in the contagious diseases of larger animals: primarily cattle and horses.
==Life==
Gamgee was born in 1831 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Italy, the son of Joseph Gamgee (1801–1895), a Scottish veterinarian formerly living in Essex, and his wife, Mary Ann West (1799–1873).<ref>Grave of Joseph Gamgee, Dean Cemetery</ref> John was a sibling of Arthur Gamgee, a biochemist, and Dr Sampson Gamgee, a surgeon and pioneer of aseptic surgery. Gamgee was educated at a number of institutions across Italy, Germany and Switzerland before graduating from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1852.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bruce|first1=Allen|title=John Gamgee (1831-1894): The Iceman Cometh|url=http://ahistoryblog.com/2017/01/12/john-gamgee-1831-1894-the-iceman-cometh/|website=A History Blog by Bruce Ware Allen}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=John|first1=Francis|title=John Gamgee (1831-1894): Our Greatest Veterinarian|journal=British Veterinary Journal|date=October 1962|volume=118|issue=10|pages=430–438|doi=10.1016/S0007-1935(17)42804-1}}</ref>
In 1855 he returned to London from the continent to lecture in veterinary medicine and surgery at Camden Hall in Camden Town. He was then living at 16 Upper Woburn Place.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Francis |first1=John |title=John Gamgee (1831-1894): Our Greatest Veterinarian |journal=British Veterinary Journal |date=1 October 1962 |volume=118 |issue=10 |pages=430–438 |doi=10.1016/S0007-1935(17)42804-1 }}</ref> Following the death of John Barlow he was invited by William Dick to come to Edinburgh to lecture in animal anatomy and physiology. In 1857 he set up his own rival college: the New Edinburgh Veterinary College on Drummond Street, initially with twenty students.<ref name="Macdonald et al 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Macdonald |first1=Alastair A. |last2=Warwick |first2=Colin M. |last3=Johnston |first3=W. T. |title=Locating veterinary education in Edinburgh in the 19th century |date=2005 |url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/2199 }}</ref> In 1857 he appears living at 21 Dublin Street in the New Town.<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1857/8</ref> In the same year his father came from Italy (via London) and set up a horse infirmary at 206 Rose Street in the New Town.<ref name="Macdonald et al 2005"/>
Appointed by the Privy Council to study the problem of diseased meat being used for human consumption (especially in London), he identified the threat of rinderpest from imported Baltic cows, and other issues.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pollard |first1=Justin |title=The Eccentric Engineer - Refrigeration: The perpetual motion machine that fooled a President |journal=Engineering & Technology |date=1 April 2017 |volume=12 |issue=3 |page=88 |doi=10.1049/et.2017.0334 }}</ref>
In 1863, Gamgee organized the first conference of what would evolve into the World Veterinary Association.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hunter|first1=P.|title=Veterinary Medicine: A Guide to Historical Sources|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351876049|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zgkkDwAAQBAJ&q=a+brief+history+of+the+world+veterinary+association|access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref>
During a study trip to the USA to look at Texas fever in cattle he encountered and became fascinated by refrigeration. He was the developer of the Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink in 1876. His investigations also led to the world's first refrigerated ships.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pollard |first1=Justin |title=How John Gamgee's perpetual motion machine fooled a president |url=https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/03/eccentric-engineer-the-perpetual-motion-machine-that-fooled-a-president/ |website=The Institution of Engineering and Technology |date=14 March 2017 }}</ref>
Gamgee later became involved promoting refrigeration technology. He developed what was purported to be a perpetual motion machine known as the Zeromoter. The Zeromoter was intended to use ammonia within a refrigeration system to power ships. The technology gained the support of US President James Garfield, before being debunked.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Humphrey|first1=Steve|title=Zeromotor Man: The Victorian who invented the ice-rink and sold perpetual motion to the US Navy|date=29 August 2016|publisher=QP Books|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zeromotor-Man-Victorian-invented-perpetual-ebook/dp/B01L9K4MWG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Zeromotor-Man-Victorian-invented-perpetual&qid=1639755215&sr=8-1|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamgee, John}} Category:1831 births Category:1894 deaths Category:British veterinarians Category:Scottish veterinarians Category:Medical doctors from Florence