Charles Clay (27 December 1801 – 18 September 1893) was an English surgeon, called the "Father of

Ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'' is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference t ...

Life

Clay was born in

Bredbury Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde, Greater Manchester, Hyde. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 16,721. It i ...

, near Stockport, Cheshire, and died in

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...

, near Blackpool, Lancashire. He began his medical education as a pupil of Kinder Wood 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 ...

(where he used to attend John Dalton's lectures on chemistry), and in 1821 went to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

to continue his studies there. Qualifying in 1823, he began a general practice in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

, where he also taught Chemistry at the Mechanics Institute. At this point he was a pledged teetotaller and supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. In 1839 he removed to Manchester to practise as an operative and consulting surgeon. It was there that, in 1842, he first performed the operation of

ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'' is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference t ...

with which his name is associated. On this occasion it was perfectly successful, and when in 1865 he published an analysis of the cases he was able to show a mortality only slightly above 30%. Clay was an opponent of

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...

Ovariotomy

Although his merits in this matter have sometimes been denied, his claim to the title ''Father of Ovariotomy'' is now generally conceded, and it is admitted that he deserves the credit not only of having shown how that operation could be made a success, but also of having played an important part in the advance of abdominal surgery for which the 19th century was conspicuous. A number of manuscripts previously owned by Clay are held by Special Collections at the University of Manchester and include a record of some of the ovariotomy (oophorectomy) operations he performed between 1855 and 1869, further details can be foun
here

Geology, archaeology, numismatics

In spite of the claims of a heavy practice, Clay found time for the pursuit of geology and archaeology. Among the books of which he was the author were a volume of ''Geological Sketches of Manchester'' (1839) and a ''History of the Currency of the Isle of Man'' (1849), and his collections included over a thousand editions of the Old and New Testaments and a remarkably complete series of the silver and copper coins of the United States.

References

Sources

*Brockbank, E. M. (1929) "The Hospitals of Manchester and Salford." In: ''Book of Manchester and Salford''. Manchester: Falkner & Co. Includes portrait of Dr Clay * *Dyson, Reverend Simeon "The Unfinished Biography of The Reverend Simeon Dyson" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Charles 1801 births 1893 deaths Anti-vivisectionists English surgeons English temperance activists People from Bredbury People from Poulton-le-Fylde