Horace Benge Dobell (1 January 1828 – 22 February 1917) was an English doctor and medical writer, consulting doctor to the
Royal Infirmary/Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.
Life
Horace Dobell was born in London on 1 January 1828.
[Dr Williams' Library Newgate St., London, Eng; Collection:; Nonconformist Registers 1815 - 1832; Film Number: 815924.] His father, John Dobell, was a wine merchant and his mother Julietta was a daughter of Samuel Thompson (1766–1837), a London political reformer. He was a younger brother of the poet
Sydney Dobell. In 1849 he married
Elizabeth Mary Fordham, daughter of George Fordham of
Odsey House, Cambridgeshire. They had three daughters.
Dobell’s choice of medical specialism was apparently made when he was still a student and courting his future wife. While on vacation in Gloucestershire, he and Elizabeth Fordham had ridden out to sketch a village church. When Elizabeth saw a plaque that recorded the death of seven brothers and sisters from consumption (
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
), the disease that killed many of her close relations, she became emotional and expressed her dismay that doctors were powerless to prevent it. Dobell then asked "What if I should devote my life to discovering a cure for this scourge?" Elizabeth replied "I would idolise the man who could so dignify a doctor’s life."
He gained his
M.R.C.S.
Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) is a postgraduate diploma for surgeons in the UK and Ireland. Obtaining this qualification allows a doctor to become a member of one of the four surgical colleges in the UK and Ireland, namel ...
diploma at
St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1849, and gained a
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...
from the
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 ...
in 1856. From 1859 to 1875 he was Physician at the Royal Infirmary/Hospital for Diseases of the Chest.
[On affections of the heart](_blank)
at th
Cabinet for Art and Medicine
/ref> In 1863 Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
wrote to Dobell to thank him for a copy of his ''On the germs and vestiges of disease'' and they corresponded on matters related to hereditary conditions.
In 1882 Dobell moved to Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
, where in 1885 he became a consulting physician at the newly opened Mont Dore hydropathic
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and tr ...
sanatorium
A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
for patients with chest diseases. One of his patients was the author R L Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
.
Dobell died at his home in Parkstone, Dorset on 22 February 1917. He was buried in Parkstone Cemetery alongside his late wife.
Works
* ''Demonstrations of diseases in the chest and their physical diagnosis'', 1858
''Lectures on the germs and vestiges of disease, and on the prevention of the invasion and fatality of disease by periodical examinations''
1861
''A manual of diet and regimen for physician and patient''
1864
* ''On tuberculosis: its nature, cause, and treatment; with notes on pancreatic juice'', 1866
* ''On diet and regimen in sickness and health: and on the interdependence and prevention of diseases and the diminution of their fatality'', 1870
* ''On winter cough, catarrh, bronchitis, emphysema, asthma : a course of lectures delivered at the Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest'', 1872
* ''On affections of the heart and in its neighbourhood. Cases, aphorisms, and commentaries'', London: H. K. Lewis, 1872. Second ed., 1876[
]
''On coughs, consumption, and diet in disease''
1877
* ''On loss of weight, blood spitting, and lung disease'', 1878
* ''The medical aspects of Bournemouth and its surroundings'', 1885
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobell, Horace
1828 births
1917 deaths
19th-century English medical doctors
Dietitians
English medical writers