Armstrong Todd (1826–1873) was a nineteenth-century
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
surgeon credited with researching new medical conditions and procedures, including
anesthetic
An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...
s.
Early life
The son of
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and president of the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
Charles Hawkes Todd
Charles Hawkes Todd (6 November 1784 – 19 March 1826) Cameron, Sir Charles A. (1886''History of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and of the Irish Schools of Medicine &c''Dublin: Fannin & Co. pp. 375-377. was a medical doctor and the pre ...
(1784–1826) and Elizabeth Bentley (1786–1862), Armstrong was born on 1826 in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
; the year his father died. He is the youngest of fifteen children and the brother of
James Henthorn Todd
James Henthorn Todd (23 April 1805 – 28 June 1869) was a biblical scholar, educator, and Irish historian. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Prote ...
,
Robert Bentley Todd
Robert Bentley Todd (9 April 1809 – 30 January 1860) was an Irish-born physician who is best known for describing the condition postictal paralysis in his Lumleian Lectures in 1849 now known as Todd's palsy.
Early life
The son of physicia ...
, and
William Gowan Todd.
By 1848, he earned a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
and
M.B. from
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in Dublin, Ireland.
[The London and Provincial Medical Directory 1855: Page 418] One year later, he passed his medical exams, and he became a member of the
Royal College of Surgeons
The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...
(M.R.C.S.).
In 1852, Armstrong married Frances Alicia Kinahan (1824–1909). She was the daughter of Robert Henry Kinahan (1799–1861) and Charlotte Hudson (1800–1842). In 1853, Robert Henry Kinahan became
Lord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
after serving as sheriff and alderman.
Professional life
Armstrong Todd started his medical career in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
as a consulting surgeon to
Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary
The Ancoats Hospital and Ardwick and Ancoats Dispensary (commonly known as Ancoats Hospital) was a large inner-city hospital located in Ancoats, to the north of the city centre of Manchester, England. It was built in 1875, replacing the Ardwick a ...
and London Mutual Life Guarantee Society.
He was a member of the Paris Medical Society,
British Medical Association,
Medical Society of London
The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom.
It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthro ...
.
[The London and Provincial Medical Directory 1865: Page 157]
The 1850s saw the first widespread use of
chloroform during surgery. Chloroform began to replace
ether
In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be ...
as an anesthetic. Todd became aware of chloroform's toxicity and dangers. He published and contributed to several articles about its safe administration in
The Medical Times and Gazette.
By 1860, Todd had moved to 16 Burlington Street, London, to become a surgeon at Marylebone Dispensary.
His home and office were located near two of his older brothers. Robert Bentley Todd was living and working as a physician in London's
Grosvenor Square area.
[The London and Provincial Medical Directory 1860: Page 243] William Gowan Todd was living and working as a pastor in the
Blackheath area.
In 1860, Armstrong Todd was involved in founding a specialty hospital for "the treatment of patients labouring under Stone and other diseases of the urinary organs." That hospital was originally known as The Hospital for Stone.
[St. Peter's and the Institute of Urology]
. Institute of Urology. Retrieved 11 March 2021. It subsequently became known as
St Peter's Hospital, which, in 1948, joined
St Pauls Hospital to form London's Institute of Urology.
Personal life
Armstrong Todd and Frances Alicia Kinahan Todd had two sons and five daughters. Both sons were medical practitioners. Their first son, Robert Henry Todd, became a coroner for the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia. The second son, Armstrong Herbert Swifte Todd, became a
surgeon in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...
, Ireland.
At the age of 44, it appears Todd became severely ill. The nature of his illness is presently unknown. Medical directories suggest he retired from medical practice before 1870. On 20 May 1873, he was admitted to Camberwell House Asylum in
Surrey, England as patient 26389. He died there several days later, on 3 June 1873, at the age of 47 years. He is buried at
Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.
One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...
in
Lambeth, England.
[Church of England Deaths and Burials 1871–1875: Page 5007] After his death, Frances Alicia Kinahan Todd returned to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, Ireland.
The children of Armstrong Todd and Francis were:
*Charlotte Emily Todd (1853–1909) married Dr. Albert Edward Croly and died in Dublin, Ireland
*Francis Caroline Hawkes Todd (1854–1901) unmarried and died in
Surrey, England
*Anna Julia Todd (1856–1934) unmarried and died in Surrey, England
*Alicia Maria Todd (1857–1927) unmarried and died in Surrey, England
*Robert Henry Todd (1859–1931) married Ellen Joy Orr and died in
Sydney, Australia
*Caroline Stanley Edwards Todd (1863–1940) married Edward Arnold and died in
Omagh
Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 m ...
,
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
*Dr. Armstrong Herbert Swift Todd (1865–1936) married Georgina Matthews and died in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...
, Northern Ireland.
Partial bibliography
Among Todd's publications were:
* “On Cases in which the administration of Chloroform may prove Injurious,” Med. Times and Gaz
* “Administration of Chloroform, with a Description of a New Inhaler,” Med Times Gaz
* “Administration of Medical Charities, with Suggestions for a more Systematized Plan of Management”
* “Stricture of the Rectum, with Description of a New Dilator”
* “Stone in the Bladder, with Cases of Lithotomy”
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Armstrong
1826 births
1873 deaths
Irish Anglicans
People from County Dublin
19th-century Irish medical doctors