James Black
Scottish doctor and pharmacologist (1924–2010)
- Fame56.5
- Momentum7.6
- United Kingdom rank#136
Source-basedRising
- Fame56.5
- Momentum7.6
- United Kingdom rank#136
- Doctors rank#108
- Wikipedia2.2K
Lived 1924–2010, aged 86United Kingdom
United KingdomSummary
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…
Gallery
Photos
7 images · refresh overdue
Where to find them
Platforms
No platforms connected yet.
By the numbers
Score breakdown
The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.
Fame
Rising56.5
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum7.6
Historical22.7
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
Receipts
Sources
- WikidataHigh confidencewikidata · wikidata.org
- WikipediaHigh confidencewikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Pantheon 2.0High confidencedatabase · pantheon.world
Discover
You might know
Similar profiles worth watching
