John William Ballantyne

John William Ballantyne FRSE FRCPE (4 June 1861 – 23 January 1923) was a Scottish physician and obstetrician.

He made major advances in the field of midwifery in the late 19th and early 20th century, with influences still felt today.

He was born in Eskbank near Dalkeith, the son of John Ballantyne, a nurseryman and seedsman, and his wife, Helen Pringle Mercer.

In 1890 he took on an important role of lecturer in Midwifery and Gynaecology at the Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women, a post which he held until 1916.

[6] He is buried with his wife, Emily Rosa Mathew (d.1914) in Dean Cemetery in the west of Edinburgh.