Administrative / Biographical History

MB BCh Oxf 1890, MD 1894; DPH Camb 1893.

Sir Thomas Morison Legge was chief inspector of factories. Legge was born in Hong Kong in 1863 and gained his medical education at Oxford, St Bartholomew's and Vienna. Legge was interested in public health from the beginning of his career. From 1896-1898 Legge was secretary to the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis. In 1898 Legge was the first man to be appointed medical inspector of factories. He was lecturer in factory hygiene at the University of Manchester from 1910 until his death and lecturer in industrial poisons at London School of Hygiene. Regulations imposed by Legge controlled the dust hazards of lead powder and silica dust. He was one of the first authorities on anthrax. Legge resigned from the Home Office in 1926 over inadequacy of regulations of lead poisoning. He joined the staff of the TUC in 1930, and continued in his work in prevention of industrial diseases. Legge died on 7 May 1932.

Related Material

UML also has in its custody a small collection of papers relating to Legge: TML.