James Black

Scottish doctor and pharmacologist (1924–2010)

  • Fame56.5
  • Momentum7.6
  • Doctors rank#144
Source-basedRising
  • Fame56.5
  • Momentum7.6
  • Doctors rank#144
  • Wikipedia2.2K
Lived 1924–2010, aged 86United Kingdom
  • Wikipedia
    59 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1924–2010
    Aged 86
  • Awards
    18
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-06-21

A Scottish pharmacologist who figured out how to block specific receptors in the body, giving us the beta blocker that calms racing hearts and the drug that heals ulcers — two of the most prescribed classes of medicine on earth.

Biography

About

James Whyte Black was born on 14 June 1924 in Scotland and trained as a physician before turning to pharmacology. He established a Veterinary Physiology department at the University of Glasgow, where his curiosity about adrenaline's effects on the heart set the course for everything that followed. In 1958 he joined ICI Pharmaceuticals and developed propranolol, the first beta blocker, a drug that treats heart disease by blocking adrenaline receptors. Later he created cimetidine, an H2 receptor antagonist that revolutionized the treatment of stomach ulcers by blocking acid secretion. The approa…

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By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
56.5
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum7.6
Historical22.7
Now attention23.8
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
#144
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence