Sir Humphry Davy Rolleston, 1st Baronet, (21 June 1862 – 23 September 1944) was a prominent English physician. Rolleston was the son of

George Rolleston George Rolleston MA MD FRCP FRS (30 July 1829 – 16 June 1881) was an English physician and zoologist. He was the first Linacre Professor of Anatomy and Physiology to be appointed at the University of Oxford, a post he held from 1860 until ...

(Linacre Professor of Physiology at Oxford) and Grace Davy, daughter of John Davy and niece of Sir Humphry Davy, Bt (chemist). He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, proceeded to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

and graduated in Natural Sciences in 1886. After clinical training at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, London he qualified MB (Cambridge) in 1888 and MD in 1892.

Public service and honours

In 1891 he became Physician 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 ...

, Hyde Park Corner, London and continued there until 1919. This period, however, was interrupted by his service during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, where he served with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

Hospital, Pretoria. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was consulting surgeon and surgeon rear-admiral with the Royal Navy. He remained active on consultative board for the Navy for many years thereafter. Rolleston gave the 1895

Goulstonian Lectures The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest A beque ...

on the subject of ''On the suprarenal bodies'', the 1919

Lumleian Lectures The Lumleian Lectures are a series of annual lectures started in 1582 by the Royal College of Physicians and currently run by the Lumleian Trust. The name commemorates John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, who with Richard Caldwell of the College endowe ...

on cerebro-spinal fever and the 1928

Harveian Oration The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...

on ''Cardio-Vascular Diseases Since Harvey's Discovery''. Rolleston was President of the

London Medical Society The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthrop ...

in 1904, the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

between 1918 and 1920 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 ...

between 1922 and 1925. He chaired the

Rolleston Committee In 1924, following concerns about the treatment of addicts by doctors, James Smith Whitaker suggested to the Home Office who suggested to the Ministry of Health Departmental Committee on Morphine and Heroin Addiction be formed under the chairman ...

formed in 1924. From 1923 to 1932 he was Physician-in-Ordinary to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. He was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1918, created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Upper Brook Street in the parish of Saint George, Hanover Square, in the County of London, in June 1925 and made a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(GCVO) in 1929. Rolleston was president 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 ...

from 1933 to 1935. In 1925, on the death of

Thomas Clifford Allbutt Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt (20 July 183622 February 1925) was an English physician best known for his role as president of the British Medical Association 1920, for inventing the clinical thermometer, and for supporting Sir William Osler in fou ...

, the

Regius Professor of Physic (Cambridge) The Regius Professorship of Physic is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Cambridge, founded by Henry VIII in 1540. "Physic" is an old word for medicine (and the root of the word physician),'' not physics Physics is th ...

, Rolleston was appointed as his successor, but under a newly imposed age-limit he retired from that position in 1932.W. J. O'Connor ''British Physiologists 1885–1914: a Biographical Dictionary'' Manchester University Press, 1991
Page 22
/ref> He became President of the

Medical Society of London The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthrop ...

in 1926. On his death in 1944, aged 82, Rolleston's baronetcy became extinct.

History of medicine

Rolleston's writings on the history of medicine include: * ''Medical Aspects of Samuel Johnson'' (1924) * ''Life of Sir Clifford Allbutt'' (1929) * ''The Cambridge Medical School: a biographical history'' (1932). * ''The Two Heberdens'' (1933) Rolleston was one of the two contributors to the revised and updated version for ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'' of the bulk of

's article "Medicine" which had been in the 11th edition. As revised for the 14th edition (1929) Rolleston's part was "Medicine, General" (in volume 15), followed by the other part, "Medicine, History of", by

Charles Singer Charles Joseph Singer (2 November 1876 – 10 June 1960) was a British History of science, historian of science, technology, and medicine. He served as Royal Army Medical Corps, medical officer in the British Army. Biography Early years Singe ...

, Lecturer in the History of Medicine, University of London. A small collection of his papers is held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.

Medicine

His non-historical medical writing include:
''Some Medical Aspects of Old Age''
(1922) * Rolleston was the senior editor for the 12-volume ''

British Encyclopaedia of Medical Practice British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

'' (1936–39).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolleston, Humphry Davy 1862 births 1944 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Regius Professors of Physic (Cambridge) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy admirals of World War I Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine Royal Navy Medical Service officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Presidents of the History of Medicine Society

Humphry Humphry is a masculine given name and surname. It comes from the Old Germanic name Hunfrid, which means "friend of the hun". The name may refer to: People First name *Humphry Berkeley (1926–1994), British politician * Humphry Bowen (1929–20 ...

Presidents of the British Association of Dermatologists Davy family