John Spriggs Morss Churchill (1801–1875) was an English medical publisher.

Life

The third son of the Rev. James Churchill (1770–1820), a dissenting minister, by his wife Mary née Morss (1775–1820), a daughter of George Morss, he was born at Ongar in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, 4 August 1801. He was educated at Henley grammar school, under the Rev. Dr. George Scobell. In 1816 Churchill was bound an apprentice for seven years to Elizabeth Cox & Son, medical booksellers, of 39 High Street,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. Having served his time he became a freeman of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

, and then for about eighteen months was employed in the house of Longman & Co. With the fortune of his wife, whom he married in 1832, Churchill started in business on his own account, purchasing the old-established retail connection of Callow & Wilson, 16 Princes Street,

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

. Churchill attended book sales and the sales of medical libraries all over the country, and issued an annual catalogue. The business increased, but not satisfactorily, owing to the new practice of "underselling" (discounting popular titles). Churchill therefore began to publish on his own account. In 1854 Churchill removed from Princes Street to New Burlington Street, gave up retail trade, and concentrated on publishing. He built a house at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in 1852; in 1861 he was made a county magistrate. He finally settled in 1862 at Pembridge Square,

Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

. For many years Churchill was an invalid; in July 1875 he went to

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, where he died on 3 August. He was buried in

Brompton cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

. The publishing business was carried on by his two sons, John and Augustus Churchill, to whom he had resigned it on retiring in 1870.

Publisher

One of the earliest productions of his press was

Robert Liston Robert Liston (28 October 1794 – 7 December 1847) was a British surgeon. Liston was noted for his speed and skill in an era prior to anaesthetics, when speed made a difference in terms of pain and survival. He was the first Professor of Cli ...

's ''Practical Surgery'', 1837, of which there were repeated editions. This book carried a

caduceus The caduceus (☤; ; la, cādūceus, from grc-gre, κηρύκειον "herald's wand, or staff") is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also ...

as Churchill's printer's mark. It has been suggested that, particularly through editions of Churchill's books in the US, the caduceus was adopted by

misprision Misprision (from fro, mesprendre, modern french: se méprendre, "to misunderstand") in English law describes certain kinds of offence. Writers on criminal law usually divide misprision into two kinds: negative and positive. It survives in the la ...

as a symbol of medicine, in place of the

rod of Asclepius In Greek mythology, the Rod of Asclepius (⚕; grc, Ράβδος του Ασκληπιού, , sometimes also spelled Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god A ...

. A well-known series of manuals followed. The first was

Erasmus Wilson Sir William James Erasmus Wilson FRCS FRS (25 November 18097 August 1884), generally known as Sir Erasmus Wilson, was an English surgeon and dermatologist. Biography Wilson was born in London, studied at Dartford Grammar School before St Ba ...

's ''Anatomist's Vade Mecum'' (1840), which was succeeded by

Golding Bird Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in ...

's ''Manual of Natural Philosophy, and Diagnosis of Urinary Deposits'' (1844), and by

George Fownes George Fownes, FRS (14 May 1815 in London – 31 January 1849) was a British chemist. He attended the Palace School in Enfield. He obtained his PhD at Giessen, in Germany. From 1842 he was chemistry professor at the Pharmaceutical Society of Gr ...

's ''Manual of Chemistry''. At low cost Churchill brought out illustrated works, such as ''Medical Botany'', edited by Dr. John Stephenson and by his brother James Morss Churchill,

James Wardrop Dr James Wardrop or Wardrope FRSE FRCSEd FRCS (1782–1869) was a Scottish surgeon and ophthalmologist. Life Wardrop was born on 14 August 1782, the youngest son of James Wardrop (1738-1830) and his wife, Marjory Marjoribanks, at Torbane Hill, ...

's ''Morbid Anatomy of the Eye'', Joseph Maclise's ''Surgical Anatomy'',

Francis Sibson Francis Sibson FRS (21 May 1814 – 7 September 1876) was an English physician and anatomist. Early life He was born at Crosscanonby, near Maryport, Cumberland but grew up and was educated in Edinburgh, apprenticed to John Lizars, surgeon a ...

's ''Medical Anatomy'', and other works. He issued the anonymous bestseller ''

Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation ''Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' is an 1844 work of speculative natural history and philosophy by Robert Chambers. Published anonymously in England, it brought together various ideas of stellar evolution with the progressive tra ...

'' in 1844. Churchill's shrewd judgment meant few failures. In 1838 he became the publisher of the ''

British and Foreign Medical Review 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, ...

'', after its publisher William Sherwood had died. John Forbes accepted Churchill's offer to publish, and the periodical flourished. From 1842 to 1847 Churchill was the publisher of ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'', and in 1850 he began the ''

Medical Times ''The Medical Times and Gazette'' was one of the principal medical journals of 19th century Britain. The paper was established in January 1852, and ceased publishing in December 1885. It incorporated the earlier ''Medical Times'' and the ''London ...

'', with which the ''

Medical Gazette Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

'' amalgamated in 1852, to form the prominent ''

Medical Times and Gazette ''The Medical Times and Gazette'' was one of the principal medical journals of 19th century Britain. The paper was established in January 1852, and ceased publishing in December 1885. It incorporated the earlier ''Medical Times'' and the ''Londo ...

''.

Family

On 18 Jan 1832 John married Georgiana née Toussaint (1805–1878), the daughter of Joseph Toussaint (1772–1844) a wax chandler, and Mary née Brecknell (1779–1836). Their children were: * Mary Churchill (1834–1903) who married Dr Edward Clapton LRCP FRCS (1830–1909) * John Churchill (1838–1906) who married Felicia née Cooper (1840–1911) * Augustus Churchill (1839–1916) who married Eleanor née Cox (1848–1931) * Ellen Churchill (1841–1924) who married Lt-Col George Nicholson Pepper (1833–1901) * Frederick Churchill FRCS (1843–1916) who married Frances née Butler (1846–1934), daughter of Charles Salisbury Butler MP * Louisa Churchill (1843–1910) who married Lt Col James Peter Robinson CB (1822–1916)

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, John Spriggs Morss 1801 births 1875 deaths Publishers (people) from London People from Epping Forest District 19th-century English businesspeople

Life

Publisher

Family

See also

Notes