inventor of a typeof uterine probe; son of George Playfair; brother of Lord Playfair and Sir Robert Lambert Playfair; educated at St Andrews and Edinburgh; 1856- MD at Edinburgh, Assistant-Surgeon in the Bengal Army, served in Oude during the Mutiny, and in 1859-60 was Professor of Surgery in the Medical College of Calcutta; 1863 - appointed to King's College Hospital, 25 years as professor of obstetrics at King's College, London; 1865 - published 'Handbook of Obstetric Operations'; 1876 - published 'A treatise on the science and practice of midwifery'; 1883 - 'The systematic treatment of nerve prostration and hysteria'; 1898 - consultant to the General-Lying in Hospital and to the Evelina Hospital for Children; FRCP; FRCS (Edinburgh); physician-accoucheur to the Duchess of Saxe-Co