Mark Cowley Lidwill (1878-1969) was a medical pioneer in anaesthesiology and

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

. Supported by physicist Edgar H. Booth, he invented the

pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

Early life

Born in

Cheltenham, England Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral ...

on 7 April 1878, Lidwill emigrated with his parents to

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, in 1894 and later graduated with honours in medicine from Melbourne University (MB 1902, BCh 1903), and as MD in 1905.

Invention of pacemaker

Lidwill discovered that by using electricity he could stimulate muscles. He then went on to discover he could use electricity to set the pace of a sick heart. In 1926 Lidwill was working at the

Crown Street Women's Hospital Crown Street Women's Hospital (now-closed) was once the largest maternity hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was located at 351 Crown Street (corner of Crown and Albion Streets), Surry Hills. The hospital was one of severa ...

in Sydney where he resuscitated a newborn baby with an electrical device. Lidwill's method was to put a needle into the heart to administer 16-volt impulses via the apparatus he had invented. Lidwill’s knowledge and expertise extended not only to his invention of the cardiac pacemaker but to the design and manufacture in 1910 of his mechanical-anaesthesia apparatus, the “Lidwill Inter-tracheal Anaesthetic Machine”, which remained in use in operating theatres in hospitals throughout Australia for more than 30 years. Lidwill’s invention, the cardiac pacemaker, has saved innumerable human lives and has been listed by Australian Geographic amongst the top ten Australian inventions that changed the world.

Honorary Fellowship

On 26 June 1954 the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) awarded Lidwill an Honorary Fellowship.

Namesake

The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute named one of five laboratories of their Molecular Cardiology and Biophysics Division as the Mark Cowley Lidwill Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory. In 2007 Jamie Vandenberg established the Mark Cowley Lidwill Research Program in Cardiac Electrophysiology

World's first black marlin catch

On 8 February 1913, Lidwill became the first angler to catch a black marlin (Tetrapterus Indicus) with a rod and reel. The marlin, weighing approximately 32 kg (70 lbs), was caught from a small Port Stephens launch operated by Mr Dick Waterson of Nelson Bay after a fight of 12 minutes on 21 thread cuttyhunk linen line. The fish was preserved in ice and shipped via the "SS Karuah" back to Sydney to be displayed at the George Street premises of tackle retailers "Eastaway Brothers". The marlin was subsequently donated to the Australian Museum, where it was skeletonised and put on display. The skeleton, now world-renowned, remains on permanent display in the Gallery of the Australian Museum in Sydney. Lidwill was a pioneer fisherman and a leader in the ranks of the first rod and reel salt-water anglers. Lidwill skippered his self-designed sea cruiser "Vialeen" and was an avid angler for most of his life. In February 2003 the Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fish Club dedicated the game fishing weigh station installed on the public wharf at Nelson Bay Port Stephens as the "Dr Mark Lidwill Game Fish Weighing Station".

References

External links

Newcastle & Port Stephens Game Fish Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lidwill, Mark Cowley 1878 births 1969 deaths Australian cardiologists Australian medical researchers University of Melbourne alumni