Thomas Harrington Tuke
FRCPE
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
FRCP (13 June 1826 - 1888) was a British physician who specialised in psychiatry. He ran and enlarged the private
Manor House Asylum in
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
(founded by his father Edward Francis Tuke), published papers on general paralysis and related topics, and contributed to the development of
lunacy legislation in
Victorian England
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
. Tuke specialised in non-restraint treatment.
Early life
Thomas Harrington Tuke was born 13 June 1826, the son of the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
physician Edward Francis Tuke of Bristol and his wife Mary. He studied medicine at
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...
; and also at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
and Paris.
Tuke took a
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
MD qualification in 1849.
Career
![1880 Rate Book Edit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/1880_Rate_Book_Edit.jpg)
Tuke specialised in the treatment of the insane with non-restraint methods. In 1846 he took over and began to extend the private Manor House asylum in Chiswick founded by his father. How far he expanded the asylum can be seen in the 1880 rate book. Not only did he own Manor Farm House, he was also renting 2 halves of a semi-detached house and the land behind it, plus another cottage, house and some more land.
In 1893 the Tukes moved out of the cottage, house and land and it became the ABC estate. In 1894 they moved out of the semi-detached houses which became part of Cranbrook Road on the
Sulhamstead Estate, the houses they rented were knocked down much later and they became Stephen Fox House. In 1896 Manor Farm House was sold and it became Wilton Avenue.
He was the first to introduce nasogastric feeding of the insane. He was a Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
(1858) and of the
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
in London (1878). He was secretary of the
Medico-Psychological Association
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...
and testified before select committees of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on amendments to the lunacy laws. Tuke was an experienced psychiatric witness and took part in the
William Frederick Windham case (in which he took a position contrary to
Dr Forbes Benignus Winslow), in the divorce action against
Lady Mordaunt, and in the
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
*Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
and George Victor Townley cases. His most famous patient was probably the
Chartist leader
Feargus O'Connor
Feargus Edward O'Connor (18 July 1796 – 30 August 1855) was an Irish Chartist leader and advocate of the Land Plan, which sought to provide smallholdings for the labouring classes. A highly charismatic figure, O'Connor was admired for his ...
.
[
]
Family
In January 1852, Tuke married Sophia Jane Conolly, daughter of Tuke's friend and teacher Dr John Conolly of The Lawn, Hanwell
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
.[ Conolly was a pioneer in non-restraint methods of treatment of the insane.A hundred years of caring for the insane.]
Julia Nurse, Wellcome Library
The Wellcome Library is founded on the collection formed by Sir Henry Wellcome (1853–1936), whose personal wealth allowed him to create one of the most ambitious collections of the 20th century. Henry Wellcome's interest was the history of med ...
, 7 August 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015. Tuke and his wife had seven sons and a daughter.[
Two of their sons Thomas Seymour and Charles Molesworth Tuke, both doctors, continued running the asylum and supervised its move to ]Chiswick House
Chiswick House is a Neo-Palladian style villa in the Chiswick district of London, England. A "glorious" example of Neo-Palladian architecture in west London, the house was designed and built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753 ...
in 1893, where it remained until its closure in 1929.
Death
Tuke died in 1888. He was buried in Chiswick on 13 June.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuke, Thomas
1826 births
1888 deaths
19th-century British medical doctors
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
British Quakers
British psychiatrists
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of St Andrews