Heneage Gibbes (1837 – July 18, 1912) was a British

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

known for his histological studies. He moved to the United States where he served as a professor of pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Gibbes was born in Berrow,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, where his namesake father was a minister while his mother Margaretta was the daughter of John Murray, an admiral in the Royal Navy. His paternal great-grandfather, Sir George Smith Gibbes (1771–1851) was physician extraordinary to

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

while his maternal grandfather John Murray was an Admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. At the age of fourteen, he rebelled against his father's plan to train for the clergy, and he left home to sail to the East Indies and returned only at the age of twenty one. He then studied under private tutors and went to the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. He became a licentiate 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 1879 and in 1887 he became Professor of Physiology and Normal and Morbid Histology at

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719 (the traditional name a ...

. He was a curator of the anatomical museum at King's College. He was a student of Emanuel Edward Klein and in 1884, the two were appointed to the British cholera commission and sent to India. This commission was set up to investigate the claims of

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the bacteri ...

, who had identified the cause of cholera. Klein and Gibbes found fault in Koch's determination of the causal agent. Gibbes moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1888 to succeed Alonzo B. Palmer as professor of pathology at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. During his tenure at Michigan, he often held out-dated theories of disease causation despite considerable advances in bacteriology. He claimed that phthisis and tuberculosis were separate diseases and that the tubercle bacillus was not proven as the cause of either. In 1895 he moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

in 1898 to become the city's Health Officer and Professor of Internal Medicine and Pathology at the Michigan College of Medicine and Surgery. He wrote two books, ''Practical Histology'' (1880) and ''Practical pathology and morbid anatomy'' (1891). He died in

McAlester, Oklahoma McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census,Shuller, Thurman"McAlester" profile ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History an ...

on July 18, 1912.

References

External links

''Practical pathology and morbid anatomy'' (1891)

''Practical histology and pathology'' (second edition) (1893)
* Cholera : inquiry by Doctors Klein and Gibbes and Transactions of a committee convened by the Secretary of State for India in Council (1885) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbes, Heneage British pathologists 1837 births 1912 deaths University of Michigan faculty