Medical scientist. Born in Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, Manson was educated at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 1865. He was appointed a Medical officer in Formosa (China) in 1866. He went on to become a pioneer of tropical medicine, developing it as a distinct field of study. Manson determined that the mosquito was host to a parasitic worm which caused the debilitating disease filariasis (or elephantiasis). He also suggested that the mosquito was the host of malaria and inspired Sir Ronald Ross (1857 - 1932), who went on to discover the link, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1902. Manson also did valuable research on sleeping sickness and beri-beri. He wrote a popular Manual of Tropical Diseases.
He founded the medical school in Hong Kong, and was instrumental in the foundation of the London School of Tropical Medicine in 1899. He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1900 and knighted three years later.
Manson died in London.
