Sir Thomas Morison Legge

Born in Hong Kong in 1863, Thomas Morison Legge studied at Oxford and St Bartholomew’s Hospital before moving into public health. In 1898, he was appointed the first Medical Inspector of Factories and Workshops in the United Kingdom, a role that made him one of the key early figures in occupational medicine.

Legge became especially known for his work on lead poisoning and anthrax, and for pushing practical reforms to protect workers in dangerous trades. He also wrote on public health and industrial disease, including Public Health in European Capitals and, with Kenneth W. Goadby, Lead Poisoning and Lead Absorption.

After leaving government service in the 1920s, he went on to serve as the first medical adviser to the Trades Union Congress. He died in 1932, and his career is still remembered as an important step in the development of workplace health and safety.