ABSTRACT
Sir John Simon, pronounced in the French form, was the City of London's first Medical Officer of Health and the first Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales. Coming from a "socially prominent family" and embedded as a surgeon, Simon was seen as uncontroversial an appointment to the role of Medical Officer of Health for the City of London and indeed a committee was formed to support his appointment. His first annual report of 1849 set the tone of his subsequent work, embedded with detailed analysis of mortality rates and evaluation of the causation. The report also highlighted the importance of water supply, both in terms of quality but also quantity. His 1850 report is more politically crafted. He applauds the work of the committee to whom he reported but continues his activism for the removal of "evils" such as overcrowding, defective drainage, contamination of water supplies pointing to the limited data sets over the two years of his incumbency.
