Michael Harrison: clinical neurologist and stroke researcher

“Physician neurologist”

Another former colleague, Andrew Lees, professor of neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, at Queen Square, London, says: “What is remarkable in looking back over his contributions to neurology is the breadth of his curiosity in an era of increasing specialisation, and his determination to maintain his physician status. He was an inspirational teacher for both medical students and his junior staff.”

Harrison produced numerous “clinically relevant” papers on cerebrovascular disease in the 1970s and was one of the first doctors to investigate the effects of aspirin in reducing transient ischaemic attacks. He was the epitome of the “physician neurologist”—now viewed as something of a rare breed—and conscious of the importance of preserving neurology’s links with general medicine.

He won an open scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, from where he graduated with …