Sir Henry Wentworth Dyke Acland, 1st Baronet, (23 August 181516 October 1900) was an English physician and educator.

Life

Henry Acland was born in

Killerton Killerton is an 18th-century house in Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, England, which, with its hillside garden and estate, has been owned by the National Trust since 1944 and is open to the public. The National Trust displays the house as a comfortab ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, the fourth son of Sir Thomas Acland and Lydia Elizabeth Hoare, and educated at Harrow and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He was elected

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 1840, and then studied medicine in London and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Returning to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he was appointed Lee's reader in anatomy at Christ Church in 1845, was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1847, and in 1851 was appointed Radcliffe librarian and physician to the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

. Seven years later, he became Regius Professor of Medicine, a post which he retained till 1894. He was also a curator of the university galleries and the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

. From 1858 to 1887, he represented his university on the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

, of which he served as president from 1874 to 1887. In 1860 he accompanied the then Prince of Wales as his physician on his Canada and the United States tour. Acland was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in 1883, and was promoted to a

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

(KCB) in 1884. He was 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 ...

in 1890, and ten years later, he died at his house in

Broad Street, Oxford Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, just north of the former city wall. The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University of Oxford. Among re ...

(number 40 on the site of the new Bodleian Library building). Acland took a leading part in the revival of the Oxford medical school and introduced the study of natural science into the university. As Lee's reader, he began to form a collection of anatomical and physiological preparations on the plan of John Hunter, and the establishment of the

Oxford University Museum The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

, opened in 1861, as a centre for the encouragement of the study of science, especially concerning medicine, was due primarily to his efforts. "To Henry Acland," said his lifelong friend,

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

, "physiology was an entrusted gospel of which he was the solitary preacher to the heathen," but on the other hand, his thorough classical training preserved science at Oxford from too abrupt a severance from the humanities. In conjunction with Dean Liddell, he revolutionised the study of art and archaeology, to cultivate these subjects, for which, as Ruskin declared, no one at Oxford cared before that time, began to flourish in the university. Acland was also interested in questions of public health. He served on the Royal Commission on sanitary laws in England and Wales in 1869. He published a study of the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

outbreak at Oxford in 1854, together with various pamphlets on sanitary matters. His memoir on the topography of the

Troad The Troad ( or ; el, Τρωάδα, ''Troáda'') or Troas (; grc, Τρῳάς, ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula ( Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Ç ...

, with a panoramic plan (1839), was among the fruits of a cruise he made in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

for his health. Acland was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1873. His son, Colonel Alfred Dyke Acland, married Hon. Beatrice Danvers Smith, daughter of Rt. Hon. W. H. Smith of the Newsagents dynasty on 30 July 1885 and gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1910 in the service of the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry (Territorial Army). Another son,

Theodore Dyke Acland Theodore Dyke Acland FRCP FRCS (14 November 1851 – 16 April 1931) was an English medical doctor, surgeon and author and was the son-in-law of Sir William Gull, a leading London medical practitioner and one of the Physicians-in-Ordinary to Qu ...

married the daughter of Sir William Gull, a leading London medical practitioner and one of the Physicians-in-Ordinary to HM Queen Victoria.

Marriage and children

Acland-henry-wentworth-1815-19-travelers-by-a-swiss-glacier

He married Sarah Cotton, daughter of William Cotton and Sarah Lane, on 14 July 1846. They had seven sons and a daughter: *

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir William Alison Dyke Acland, 2nd Baronet (1847–1924) *

Sarah Angelina Acland Sarah Angelina ("Angie") Acland (26 June 1849 – 2 December 1930) was an English amateur photographer, known for her portraiture and as a pioneer of colour photography. Distributed bThe University of Chicago Pressin the US. She was credited ...

(1849–1930) * Henry Dyke Acland (1850–1936) *

(1851–1931), the father of Theodore Acland (1890–1960) * Herbert Dyke Acland (1855–1877) * Sir Reginald Brodie Dyke Acland (1856–1924) * Francis Edward Dyke Acland (1857–1943) * Alfred Dyke Acland (1858–1937) The old Acland Hospital, initially in

Wellington Square, Oxford Wellington Square is a garden square in central Oxford, England, a continuation northwards of St John Street. In the centre of the square is a small park, Wellington Square Gardens, owned by the University of Oxford. A bicycle route passes i ...

and later on the

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

(now part of

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

), was founded in memory of Acland's wife,

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

. Their daughter,

Sarah Acland Sarah, Lady Acland ( Cotton; 21 July 1815 – 25 October 1878) was the wife of Sir Henry Acland, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford. She was a socialite and philanthropist. After her death, the Sarah Acland Home was esta ...

, subsequently lived in Park Town and was an early pioneer of colour photography. Some of her photographs are in collection of the

Museum of the History of Science The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from th ...

in Broad Street, opposite the family home.

References

External links

*
Gardner's 1852 Directory for the City of Oxford
entry * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Henry 1815 births 1900 deaths Henry Wentworth Dyke Medical doctors from Exeter People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom English curators 19th-century English medical doctors Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society Regius Professors of Medicine (University of Oxford) Chairs of the General Medical Council Burials at Holywell Cemetery Younger sons of baronets Nathaniel Cotton family