John Shekleton (bapt. 5 April 1795 – 18 May 1824) was an Irish doctor and anatomist.

Early life

Shekleton was born in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, around the year 1795. He was one of 10 children: five boys and five girls. His mother was Margaret Pentland from

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

and his father was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

named Joseph Shekleton. Shekleton's grandfather held property at Pepperstown in Ardee in County Louth. Shekleton attended primary school in Dundalk.

Career

As the age of 15, Shekleton began training in medicine at the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

under

Abraham Colles Abraham Colles (23 July 1773 – 16 November 1843) was Professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the President of RCSI in 1802 and 1830. A prestigio ...

. He graduated on 27 August 1816 and moved to

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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to continue his studies. Shekleton returned to Ireland in 1817 and was appointed as anatomy demonstrator at RCSI. He was elected to membership of RCSI on 1 February 1819. On 1 May 1820, RCSI established a museum with a budget of £200 per year, overseen by a five-member committee. Candidates for the position of curator were required to demonstrate examples of their anatomy specimens. Shekleton presented a

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injection of the lymph system of the

lower limb The human leg, in the general word sense, is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or gluteal region. However, the definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb ext ...

and was appointed as curator with a salary of £30 per annum. On 17 February 1821, Shekleton received an increased salary of £40. In 1823, he was promoted in title to conservator. As of 2014, Shekleton's winning specimen remains on display in the RCSI anatomy department. By 1822, Shekleton has amassed over 600 specimens, which he increased to more than 1,300 by December 1823. The collection included natural history specimens in jars, partial and complete skeletons, and stuffed and mounted examples from nature. Shekleton discovered the muscle ''compressor venae dorsalis penis''. After Shekleton's sudden death at the age of 29, he was succeeded as curator by his apprentice John Houston.

Death

Shekleton's death on 18 May 1824 was attributed to

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

from a needlestick injury acquired while performing an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

11 days beforehand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shekleton, John 1790s births 1824 deaths 19th-century Irish medical doctors Irish anatomists People from Dundalk Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical doctors from County Louth Scientists from County Louth