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{{Construction Site}}[[File:Sir-James-Calvert-Spence.jpg|thumb|Sir James Calvert Spence]]Professor Sir '''Professor Sir {{FULLPAGENAME}}''' , M.C., {{MD}}, {{DSc}}, {{FRCP}}, ({{LifeData |birth=1892-03-19 |birthplace= Amble, Northumberland |birthcountry= [[United Kingdom]] |death=1954-05-26}}) was a prominent British paediatrician in the early twentieth century. He practised at Newcastle upon Tyne where [[Douglas Gairdner]] joined him in 1945 as his first assistant.
[[Category:Deceased]]
Add SEEALSO section.
Spence was a founding member of the British Paediatric Association (later known as the [https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/ Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health]) in 1928.
He established his practice at Newcastle upon Tyne where he developed an interest in social paediatrics, which included interests in support for [[breastfeeding]]<ref name="spence1938">{{REFjournal
|last=Spence
|first=
|init=JC
|author-link=James Calvert Spence
|etal=no
|title=The modern decline of breastfeeding
|journal=Br Med J
|location=
|date=1938-10-08
|volume=2
|issue=4057
|pages=729-33
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2210420/pdf/brmedj04218-0002.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=20781788
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4057.729
|accessdate=2023-03-26
}}</ref> and in providing adequate nutrition to children in poor families,<ref name="spence1940">{{REFjournal
|last=Spence
|first=
|init=JC
|author-link=James Calvert Spence
|etal=no
|title=The Feeding of Children
|journal=Br Med J
|location=
|date=1940-07-20
|season=
|volume=4159
|article=
|page=
|pages=93-5
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2178990/pdf/brmedj04102-0023.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=20783212
|pubmedCID=2178990
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4150.93
|accessdate=2023-03-26
}}</ref> as the British nation entered World War II and shortages of food multiplied.
[[Douglas Gairdner]] joined him in 1945 as his first assistant and stayed until 1948 during which time Spence served as a mentor to the younger Gairdner. Spence urged Gairdner to write a review of infant [[circumcision]], which was published in the ''British Medical Journal'' on Christmas Eve, 1949.<ref name="fate1949">{{GairdnerDM 1949}}</ref>
{{PUB}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Spence
|first=
|init=JC
|author-link=James Calvert Spence
|etal=no
|title=The modern decline of breastfeeding
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Br Med J
|location=
|date=1938-10-08
|volume=2
|issue=4057
|pages=729-33
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2210420/pdf/brmedj04218-0002.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=20781788
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1136/bmj.2.4057.729
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2023-07-11
}}
* {{REFjournal
|last=Spence
|first=
|init=JC
|author-link=James Calvert Spence
|etal=no
|title=Spence on circumcision
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Lancet
|location=
|date=1964-10-24
|volume=2
|issue=
|article=
|page=902
|pages=
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/general/spence1/
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2023-03-26
}}
==Honours==
His Majesty, King George VI, recognised his contributions with a knighthood in 1950.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950_Birthday_Honours
|title=1950 birthday Honours
|last=
|first=
|init=
|publisher=Wikipedia
|date=
|accessdate=2023-03-28
}}</ref>
The British Paediatric Association created the James Spence Medal, which is awarded annually since 1960 for "outstanding contributions to the advancement or clarification of paediatric knowledge."<ref name="spence">{{REFjournal
|last=
|first=
|title=The James Spence Medal
|journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood
|volume=52
|issue=2
|pages=85–86
|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1546185/pdf/archdisch00820-0007.pdf
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=1546185
|DOI=10.1136/adc.52.2.85
|date=1977
|accessdate=2023-03-27
}}</ref>
The [https://www.jcsc.co.uk/ James Calvert Spence College] in Amble, Northumberland, actually a co-educational secondary school, was named in his honour.
==Death==
Spence had an extended illness which led to his death at age 62 on 26 May 1954.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Sir James Spence obituary
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=Indian Journal of Pediatrics
|location=
|date=1954-07
|volume=21
|page=193
|url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF02819908.pdf
|accessdate=2023-03-27
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[United Kingdom]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{URLwikipedia|James_Calvert_Spence|James Calvert Spence|2023-03-26}}
{{ABBR}}
{{REF}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, James}}
[[Category:Person]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Physician]]
[[Category:Pediatrician]]
[[Category:Author]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:UK]]