David White Finlay Finlay was born on 1 September 1840 to James Finlay (died 13/5/1849) and Isabella White. He had 4 brothers, John (1830-1854), Alexander (1833-1895), James (1836-1910) and William Neilson (1842-1903). John died aged 23 in Malta when on a trip to the Holy Land. Alexander was a Seascape Painter. James was a GP in Helensburgh when A J Cronin (writer of Dr. Finlay's Casbook) was in his youth in Helensburgh. In Aug 1878 in Marylebone, London David married Catherine Mary Thompson, daughter of the shipowner, Stephen Thompson. They had four sons and four daughters viz. Ronald Stephen (1879-1884), Brenda Mary (1880-1952),
Carlos Finlay at his house in Havana on August 20, 1915. In 1928, President Gerardo Machado established the National Order of Merit Carlos J. Finlay, rewarding contributions to healthcare and medicine. It is the highest scientific decoration awarded by the Cuban Council of State. The order was discontinued between 1959 and 1981. On the wall of the Finlay Medical History Museum in Havana, the inscription states, "History Museum of the Medical Sciences ' Carlos J. Finlay', created by the Revolutionary Government in eternal homage to the men who contributed to the advance of the sciences in Cuba. National Commission of the Academy