George Oliver (13 April 1841 – 27 December 1915) was an English physician. He was born in

Middleton-in-Teesdale Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, Teesdale, Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle. The ...

, County Durham, the second son of W. Oliver, a surgeon. He attended the boarding school in Gainford, Yorkshire and was then medically educated at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

and

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

, where he qualified MB in 1865 and MD in 1873. He moved to

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

, Yorkshire and ran an extensive practice there from 1876 until his retirement in 1908. In 1887 he was elected a fellow 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 ...

and in 1896 delivered their

Croonian Lecture The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians. Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single l ...

on the subject of the circulation of the blood. In 1904 he founded the Oliver-Sharpey lectureship ''to promote physiological research by observation and experiment, and to encourage the application of physiological knowledge to the prevention and cure of disease and the prolongation of life'' (The lectureship was founded in honor of

William Sharpey William Sharpey FRS FRSE LLD (1 April 1802 – 11 April 1880) was a Scottish anatomist and physiologist. Sharpey became the outstanding exponent of experimental biology and is described as the "father of British physiology". Early life Sharpe ...

, who was Oliver's physiology professor at University College, London.) Oliver invented several instruments such as the haemoglobinometer, haemodynamometer and arteriometer. These instruments allowed him in 1893 to observe the effect an extract of sheep's adrenal gland had on human blood vessels. He continued the study of the glands of internal secretion, especially the suprarenals, in conjunction with Professor Edward Schäfer at University College. He died in retirement in Farnham, Surrey. He was married twice: firstly in 1872 to Alice Mary Hunt, who died in 1898 and secondly in 1900 to Mary Ledgard, who survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, George 1841 births 1915 deaths People from County Durham (district) 19th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Alumni of University College London People from Harrogate People from Farnham