Sir Leonard Gregory Parsons, 1879-1950, paediatrician; educated at King Edward VI Grammar School and Mason College Birmingham; M.B., B.S. London, 1905. In 1910 he was appointed to Birmingham Children's Hospital and was the first Professor of Child Health at University of Birmingham, 1928-1946. Parsons obtained new buildings for the Children's Hospital and established the Institute of Child Health, 1945. He insisted upon scientific investigation of children's diseases and the importance of ante-natal factors. He was knighted in 1946 and made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1948.
Reference: The Dictionary of National Biography: The Concise Dictionary, Part II (Oxford University Press,Oxford, 1961 ).
For further reading about the University of Birmingham see: Eric Ives, Diane Drummond, Leonard Schwarz The First Civic University: Birmingham 1880-1980 An Introductory History (The University of University of Birmingham Press. 2000).
From the guide to the University of Birmingham Staff Papers: Papers of Sir Leonard Parsons Collection, 1910-1951, (University of Birmingham Information Services, Special Collections Department)
