Thomas Masterman Winterbottom (oil on canvas)

Dr. Winterbottom was an eminent physician and philanthropist. Born in South Shields on 26 March 1766, he was the eldest of seven children. He later studied at the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and in 1792 was appointed physician to the Colony of Sierra Leone. After returning to South Shields in 1796, he settled in Westoe Village and practiced medicine in the Market Place. He devoted himself to intellectual and charitable pursuits including founding the South Shields Marine School and becoming vice president of the South Shields Mechanics Institute. After a painting by Robinson Elliot (1819-94).