Sir John Parkinson was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 cardiologist remembered for describing Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome is a disorder of the heart in which the ventricles of the heart contract prematurely due to an accessory pathway known as the bundle of Kent. This accessory pathway is an abnormal electrical communication from the atria to the ventricles...

.

Biography

John Parkinson was educated at University College London

University College London

University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, and studied medicine at the University of Freiburg

University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 and the London Hospital

Royal London Hospital

The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...

, qualifying in 1907. He received his M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 in 1910, and worked as an assistant to Sir James Mackenzie

Sir James Mackenzie

Sir James Mackenzie FRS was a Scottish cardiologist, pioneer in the study of cardiac arrhythmias.-Biography:James Mackenzie was born in Scone, where his father was a farmer...

 at the London Hospital.

During the First World War he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

, commanding a military cardiology centre in Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

. After the war he returned to the London Hospital, becoming consultant and head of the cardiology department. He was also consultant to the National Heart Hospital, and was a civilian cardiologist for the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 from 1931 to 1956. He was knighted by King George VI

George VI of the United Kingdom

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...

in 1948. The first European Congress of Cardiology opened on 10 September 1952 under the chairmanship of Sir John Parkinson.

Sir John had five children of which four were girls. His only son, Robert Parkinson, was one of the 'Channel Dash Heroes' who were killed during the second world war, aged just 19.