Age, Biography and Wiki

Leonard Arthur was born on 20 April, 1926, is a British physician tried for murder. Discover Leonard Arthur's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 57 years old?

Popular As N/A
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Age 57 years old
Zodiac Sign Aries
Born 20 April, 1926
Birthday 20 April
Birthplace N/A
Date of death 25 December, 1983
Died Place N/A
Nationality

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 20 April. He is a member of famous physician with the age 57 years old group.

Leonard Arthur Height, Weight & Measurements

At 57 years old, Leonard Arthur height not available right now. We will update Leonard Arthur's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

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He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

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Leonard Arthur Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Leonard Arthur worth at the age of 57 years old? Leonard Arthur’s income source is mostly from being a successful physician. He is from . We have estimated Leonard Arthur's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
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Source of Income physician

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Timeline

1867

Arthur's mother-in-law, Janet Brain's mother, was Stella Langdon Down, the granddaughter of John Langdon Down who gave the first systematic description of Down syndrome in 1867 and after whom the syndrome is named.

Stella had a brother, John, who had Down syndrome.

He was named after his grandfather John Langdon Down, although he was born after his grandfather's death.

After attending Aldenham School in Elstree, Hertfordshire, Arthur received an MB and BChir at Cambridge University.

He did National Service on the front line in Korea, as a medical officer in support of the Durham Light Infantry.

1926

Leonard John Henry Arthur (20 April 1926 – 25 December 1983) was a British doctor tried in the 1981 case of R v Arthur, for the attempted murder of John Pearson, a newborn child with Down's syndrome.

He was acquitted.

An important test case, the trial brought to public attention the dilemmas for doctors in treating severely disabled newborn infants.

Arthur felt strongly that doctors should always act in the best interests of the child, with the full support of the parents.

In some cases, this meant not prolonging the child's life in order to prevent future suffering.

Opinion polls taken at the time of the trial indicated huge public support for Arthur's approach.

The outcome of the trial confirmed that 'nursing care only' is an acceptable form of treatment, and that administering a drug to relieve suffering is not an offence, even if it accelerates death.

Ambiguities remain, however, about what is legally permissible in the treatment of disabled infants: if a doctor or anyone else intentionally kills a child, however disadvantaged, this would still be considered to be murder.

A descendant of Sir George Arthur, Arthur's father was a parish priest.

1954

In 1954, Arthur married Janet Stella Brain, daughter of Walter Russell Brain, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians made a baronet in 1954.

Together they had one son and five daughters.

There are coincidences in Leonard Arthur's family that relate to Down syndrome.

1957

Post-registration posts followed in Birmingham, London, Newcastle, and Plymouth, and he obtained the MRCP in 1957.

He worked as a senior paediatric registrar in Ibadan, Nigeria, and then in Bristol.

1965

In 1965, he became a consultant paediatrician in Derby.

He served on the Council of the British Paediatric Association, was secretary of the Paediatric Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and chaired the Trent Regional Advisory Sub-committee in Paediatrics, sitting also on the Regional Medical Committee.

He also chaired a Derbyshire County Council Advisory Committee on children at risk of non-accidental injury.

1980

John Pearson was born on 28 June 1980.

He had Down's syndrome and was later found to have had additional abnormalities of his lung, heart, and brain.

Shortly after the birth, Arthur talked to John Pearson's parents and then wrote in the case notes, "Parents do not wish the baby to survive. Nursing care only."

He prescribed DF118 (an opiate based painkiller), to be given 'as required' in doses of 5 mg at four hourly intervals.

The child died three days later, on 1 July 1980, the cause of death being identified as bronchopneumonia as a result of Down's syndrome.

Arthur was subsequently charged with murder, but the possibility that the child's death was caused by his other defects caused the original charge to be reduced, during the trial, to attempted murder.

Sir Thomas Hetherington, Director of Public Prosecutions, described the decision to prosecute Arthur as the "most difficult" of his career.

1981

Arthur was tried on 5 November 1981 in Leicester Crown Court and defended by George Carman.

Arthur did not give evidence in his own trial.

His defence did call other distinguished expert witnesses though, such as Sir Douglas Black, then President of the Royal College of Physicians, who said:

"I say that it is ethical, in the case of a child suffering from Down's, and with a parental wish that it should not survive, to terminate life providing other considerations are taken into account such as the status and ability of the parents to cope in a way that the child could otherwise have had a happy life."

Carman argued in his closing remarks:

"He could, like Pontius Pilate, have washed his hands of the matter. He did not, because good doctors do not turn away. Are we to condemn him as a criminal because he helped two people [the mother and child] at the time of their greatest need? Are we to condemn a doctor because he cared?"

The jury deliberated for two hours and found Arthur not guilty.

1983

He was elected FRCP shortly before he died, aged 57, on 25 December 1983.

Arthur was described by a colleague as a "a kind, gentle, compassionate man who cared deeply for his patients and their families. A great supporter of the weak or poor, he was motivated by firm Christian beliefs".

When he was suspended from work after his first court appearance, a petition with some 19,000 signatures, including three Derbyshire MPs, called for his reinstatement.

2001

A former patient wrote in 2001: "He was the very best doctor around. I know. I was one of his patients. And after all these years I still miss him."