James Little (physician)

[1] In his diary, now held in the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), he records the decision to enter the medical profession:1853 – for some years past my attention has been directed to the medical profession – I now quietly sat down and made up my mind to go to it – a family council was held & the best bargain made for me to go to Dr. Cohan as an apprentice – so I went over to Armagh and was installed as his apprentice – I should certainly not have had the courage to do so were it but that it had already been agreed that he was to allow me to go to Dublin in the following November and I hope that Aunt's kindness will make the nine months bearable.

)[3] After he qualified, he was placed in charge of the Armagh County Infirmary, under Robinson and James Cuming, the then leading physician of Belfast.

[2] In the diary, Little records his experience as a ship surgeon and the long periods of unemployment where he lived at the Officers Club in Calcutta.

[2] In February 1858, he set sail from Calcutta, on board the SS Ava en route for Suez; the ship was carrying several refugees from the Indian rebellion, including Lady Julia Inglis, daughter of Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford and the wife of Major-General Sir John Eardley Inglis, who commanded the British troops at the Siege of Lucknow.

[6] Little's diary records his experience during the shipwreck, describing spending a night in an open boat before landing on shore the next morning.

[3] In Dublin, he became closely associated with Alfred Hudson (1808–1880), who recognised Little's ability and was instrumental in his being appointed physician to the Adelaide Hospital, where he was a clinical teacher for a period of forty-six years until shortly before his death.

[3] In 1896, he was one of the delegates at a meeting with the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Gerald Balfour, at Dublin Castle to discuss the grievances of Irish Poor-law medical officers.

[12] In 1898, he succeeded Sir John Banks, K.C.B., as Regius Professor of Physic in Trinity College Dublin,[13] retaining this office until his death, taking a prominent part in the conduct of the Final Examinations in Medicine.

[14] When the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland held its annual meeting in Dublin in 1909, Little occupied the position of president.

[3][19]In January 1922, six years after his death, a bronze plaque with a portrait in bas-relief was erected in the Entrance Hall of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland by the Members and Fellows.

[2][4] The plaque, the work of Oliver Sheppard, R.H.A., was unveiled on 17 January in the presence of a "large and distinguished company", with the President of the College, Sir James Craig, in the chair.