Edward Mapother (12 July 1881 – 20 March 1940) was a

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 ...

who, as the first medical superintendent of the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the In ...

and creator of the

Institute of Psychiatry The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, was perhaps the most influential figure establishing clinical and academic psychiatry in England. Born in Dublin, from landed

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

, he was brought up in England from the age of 7. His father was an eminent surgeon who moved to private practice in London, and Mapother completed his own MD in 1908. He undertook locum work in mental asylums and then served in the medical corps during World War I, serving as a surgeon in France, Mesopotamia and India, developing an interest in

shell shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

. Mapother may also have been influenced in his chosen specialty by an apparent mental illness of his older sister, who appears to have had long stays in psychiatric hospitals and to have died in one of them - the

Bethlem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably '' Bedlam'', a 1946 film with ...

.The Long Grove Psychiatrists Of 1911
Epsom and Ewell History Explorer Mapother married Barbara Reynolds in 1915. Nevertheless, he appears to have been homosexual. He was involved in activities of the

Eugenics Society Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

and was often consulted about

abortions Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

for poor women.By Their Fruits: Eugenics, Population Control, and the Abortion Campaign
By Ann Farmer. Pg79

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapother, Edward 1881 births 1940 deaths English psychiatrists Academics of King's College London Physicians of the Maudsley Hospital