Editing Joseph Lister (section)

===University life===
To be formally inducted into the academic staff, Lister had to deliver a [[Latin]] oration before the [[Academic senate#Scotland|senatus academicus]].{{sfn|Godlee|1924|p=89}} In a letter to his father, he described how surprised he was when a letter arrived from [[Allen Thomson]] informing him that the thesis had to be presented the next day on 9 March. Lister unable to start the paper until 2 am that night, had only prepared around two-thirds of it, when he arrived in Glasgow. The rest was written at Thomson's house. In the letter, he described the dread he felt being admitted into the room prior to presenting the oration. After the thesis was read and Lister was inducted to the senate, he signed a statement not to act contrary to the wishes of the [[Church of Scotland]].{{sfn|Godlee|1924|p=90}} While the contents of his thesis have been lost, the title is known, "De Arte Chirurgica Recte Erudienda" ("On the proper way of teaching the art of surgery").{{sfn|Coutts|1909|p=582}}

In early May 1860, the couple made the journey to Glasgow to move into their new house at 17 Woodside Place, at the time on the western edge of the city.{{sfn|Godlee|1924|p=89}} In 1860, university life in Glasgow was lived in the grimy quadrangles of the small college on Glasgow [[High Street, Glasgow|High Street]], a mile east of the city centre next to [[Glasgow Royal Infirmary]] (GRI) and the [[Glasgow Cathedral|Cathedral]] and surrounded by the most squalid part of the old medieval city.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=53}} The Scottish poet and novelist [[Andrew Lang]] wrote of his student days at the college, that while [[Coleridge]] could smell 75 different stenches during his student days in Cologne, Lang counted more.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=53}} The city was so polluted the grass did not grow.

The position of Professor of Surgery at Glasgow was peculiar, as it did not carry with it an appointment as surgeon to the Royal Infirmary, as the university was separate from the hospital. The allotment of surgical wards to the care of the Professor of Surgery depended upon the goodwill of the directors of the infirmary.{{sfn|Wrench|1913|pp=61-62}} His predecessor Lawrie never held any hospital appointments at all.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=52}} Having no patients to care for, Lister immediately began a summer lecture course. He discovered that college classrooms were considered too small and had low ceilings for the number of students, which made them unpleasant to be in when filled to overcrowding.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=53}} Before his first lecture, the couple cleaned and painted the dingy lecture room assigned to them, at their own expense.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=53}} He inherited a large class of students from his predecessor that grew rapidly.{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=53}}

After his first session, he wrote favourably of Glasgow:
{{blockquote|The facilities I have here for prosecuting this course as compared to the difficulties I laboured under in Edinburgh are quite delightful – museums, abundant material and a good library all at my disposal and my colleague Allen Thompson co-operating in the kindest and most valuable manner{{sfn|Cameron|1949|p=54}}}}

{{multiple image | header = Glasgow university life| align = center | direction = horizontal | total_width = 750 |float = none
|image1=Lister's Glasgow residence, 17 Woodside Place. Wellcome M0006522.jpg|caption1 =Woodside Place|alt1=17 Woodside Place
|image2=Lister, Inner Quadrangle of the old college of Glasgow. Wellcome M0006515.jpg|caption2=The old college|alt2=The university quadrangle
|image3=Old_college_from_high_street_front.jpg|caption3=The old college entrance|alt3=entrance
|image4=High Street From College Open (-4) LACMA M.2008.40.98.4.jpg|caption4=Glasgow high street from the college|alt4=Glasgow high street
|image5=Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 3-4 front. Wellcome M0006527.jpg|caption5=Glasgow Royal Infirmary|alt5=Glasgow Royal Infirmary
|image6=Lister, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, New Surgical Block, 1861 Wellcome M0006518.jpg|caption6=The surgical house|alt6=Surgical block
|image7=Glasgow Royal Infirmary, entrance 1861 Wellcome M0006521.jpg|caption7=Entrance to male ward 24|alt7=Entrance to ward 24
}}

In August 1860, Lister was visited by his parents, who took a "saloon" carriage on the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]].{{sfn|Fisher|1977|p=101}} In September 1860, [[Marcus Beck]] came to live with the Listers and their two servants, while he studied medicine at the university.{{sfn|Fisher|1977|p=101}} In the closing weeks of the summer, the Listers along with Beck, Lucy Syme and Ramsay went on a short holiday to [[Balloch, West Dunbartonshire|Balloch]], [[Loch Lomond]]. While the group was visiting [[Tarbet, Argyll]], the men rowed across the loch and ascended [[Ben Lomond]].{{sfn|Fisher|1977|p=102}}