John William Tripe

John William Tripe (26 February 1821 – 7 April 1892) was an English physician of the Victorian era and President of the Royal Meteorological Society (1871–72).

Tripe was born in London in 1821, one of 11 children born to Mary née Broad (1795–1874) and Dr John Tripe (1789–1841). He was educated at the Merchant Taylor's School before studying medicine at the London Hospital, where he was awarded two gold medals. He became a Licentiate of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (LSA) in 1843 before making further studies in medicine at the University of St Andrews from where he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1846. He became MRCS (England) in 1848 and MRCP (Edinburgh) in 1879. He became a Licentiate in Midwifery (LM) in 1853.^[1] Tripe was Medical Officer of Health for Hackney from 1856 to his death in 1892. He married Elizabeth Thomson on 10 October 1850;^[2] she died in 1860. In 1864 he married Grace Wright (1841–1901),^[3] with whom he had two children: Mary Grace Tripe (1870–1941) and John Henry Tripe (1874–1913), who, like his father and grandfather, became a doctor.

Tripe joined the Royal Meteorological Society as a young man; he was elected a Fellow in 1856, and served on the Council with a break of only a year from 1858 to his death in 1892. He held the office of President in 1871–72; of Vice-President in 1860–61, 1863–64, 1869–70; and of Secretary in 1865–66, 1868 and 1873–1892.

John William Tripe died aged 71 in London in 1892 leaving £3,836 15s 7d in his will.^[4] He is buried with his second wife and his son in Chingford Mount Cemetery.