James Yearsley (1805–1869), aural surgeon, was born in 1805 to a north-country family settled in
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
.
Medical career
Adopting a medical career, he became a pupil of
Ralph Fletcher
Ralph Fletcher (born March 17, 1953) is an American writer of children's picture books, young adult fiction, and poetry. He is also an educational consultant, and author of books for both children and professional educators on the art of writing ...
of
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, (a surgeon of considerable eminence in his profession, and of some note as a collector of pictures), and later married his daughter. Yearsley moved to London, where he entered himself a student 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 ...
. He was admitted a member of the
Royal College of Surgeons
The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...
of England and a licentiate of the
Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence.
The society is a m ...
in 1827; later in life he added to these qualifications the licentiateship of the
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
(1860), and he graduated M.D. at
St. Andrews University in 1862.
After practising for a short time in Cheltenham, he established himself about 1829 as a general practitioner at
Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to:
People
* Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan
* Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning
* Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland
Places
* RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...
in
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
. He removed to London about 1837, and started to practise as an aural surgeon. He opened an institution for the relief of diseases of the ear in Sackville Street,
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
, and in 1846 he became surgeon to the
Royal Society of Musicians The Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain is a charity in the United Kingdom that supports musicians. It is the oldest music-related charity in Great Britain, founded in 1738 as the ''Fund for Decay'd Musicians'' by a declaration of trust sign ...
. He founded a hospital specialising in the diseases of the ear, the
Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
.
Yearsley deserves recognition as one who assisted in bringing aural surgery out of the degraded position it held at the beginning of the 19th century. He insisted strongly upon the connection between
deafness
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
and disease of the
naso-pharynx
The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struct ...
. At first he practised freely the removal of the
tonsils
The tonsils are a set of lymphoid organs facing into the aerodigestive tract, which is known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring and consists of the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. These organs play an ...
as an aid to recovery from deafness, but in later life experience led him to modify his views, and he performed
tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy is a list of surgical procedures, surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep ...
much less often. Yearsley learnt, too, the value of an artificial
tympanum in the relief of certain forms of deafness, and he very justly recommended the use of the simplest form of film in preference to the more complex tympana employed by some of his contemporaries.
Yearsley was less scientific than either
George Pilcher
George Pilcher (1801–1855) was an English aural surgeon and medical reformer.
Life
Son of Jeremiah Pilcher of Winkfield, Berkshire, George Pilcher was born on 30 April 1801. George was brother to William Humphrey Pilcher and John Giles Pi ...
or
Joseph Toynbee
Joseph Toynbee FRS (30 December 1815
Another son, Harry Valpy Toynbee (1861–1941), was the father of universal historian Arnold J. Toynbee, and archaeologist and art historian Jocelyn Toynbee.
He died on 7 July 1866, at 18, Saville Row, M ...
, and, though original in his views and bold in expressing his opinions, he too often spoilt his cause by his controversial temperament.
As a publisher
He was the originator and proprietor of the
Medical Circular from 1852 until it was consolidated with the
Dublin Medical Press in January 1866. Jointly with two other members of his profession, Dr. Tyler Smith and Dr.
Forbes Benignus Winslow
Forbes Benignus Winslow DCL, FRCP Edin., MRCP, MRCS, MD, (10 August 1810 – 3 March 1874) was a British psychiatrist, author and an authority on lunacy during the Victorian era.
Winslow was the ninth son of Thomas Winslow (1772–181 ...
, he founded the ‘'
Medical Directory
''The Medical Directory'' is a directory of physicians of the United Kingdom, published in London and Edinburgh. Founded in 1846, until 1869 it was called ''The London and Provincial Medical Directory''.
Both titles were begun by John Churchill, ...
'’, becoming its sole proprietor on the retirement of his two partners.
Published works
Yearsley's works were:
# ‘Improved Methods of treating Diseases of the Ear,’ London, 1840, 12mo.
# ‘Contributions to Aural Surgery,’ London, 1841, 12mo.
# ‘Stammering,’ &c., London, 1841, 8vo; 3rd edit. 1841.
# ‘A Treatise on Enlarged Tonsils,’ London, 1842, 8vo; 3rd edit. 1848.
# ‘On Throat Deafness,’ London, 1853, 8vo; 2nd edit. 1868.
# ‘Deafness Practically Illustrated,’ London, 1854, 12mo.
Death
Yearsley died at his house in
Savile Row
Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, London, on 9 July 1869, and was buried at
Sutton Bonnington
Sutton Bonington () is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south-west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Boni ...
, in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
.
A memorial plaque on his former clinic at
32 Sackville Street,
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...
was unveiled on 27 May 1994 which reads "Westminster City Council Dr. James Yearsley, MD, MRCS, LRCP, 1805 - 1869, founded the Metropolitan Ear Institute here in 1838. Mr. Ronnie Yearsley."
Plaque: Dr Yearsley.
London Remembers, 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
References and sources
;References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yearsley, James
1805 births
1869 deaths
English surgeons
English medical writers
Audiologists
People from Cheltenham
English male non-fiction writers