KB, CB, KCMG, MRCS Eng., MB London, FRCS Eng., MS
Berkeley George Andrew Moynihan was born in Malta, where his father was an ensign in the army. The family had always assumed that Berkeley would follow in his father’s footsteps; indeed, he was sent to Sandhurst but left almost immediately. He enrolled at the Leeds School of Medicine in 1883, graduating in 1887 with a degree from London and the conjoint diploma.
He became House Surgeon to McGill and obtained 5 years practical experience before being elected an Assistant Surgeon and Lecturer in Surgery in 1896. By 1910 he was nationally known and became the first Professor of Clinical Surgery within the University of Leeds. His book ‘Abdominal Operations’ earned him an international reputation. In 1925 he became Professor of Surgery. Between 1926 and 1931 he was President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Moynihan was our most illustrious surgical son. He was Knighted in 1912, appointed CB in 1917, KCMG in 1918, Baronet in 1922 and first Baron of Leeds in 1929. He received 14 honorary degrees and the Freedom of the City of Leeds. He was the first President of the Royal College of Surgeons from outside London and the only one to be elevated to a Peerage. He was instrumental in creating The Association of Surgeons, The British Journal of Surgery, and The Moynihan Club.
