John Stevenson Bushnan (1807–1884)
was an English physician and medical writer.
Life
He was born in London, the eldest child of Joseph Bushnan, an official of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, and his wife, Mary Newton, née Osborn. He passed at Edinburgh in 1830 the examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons and of the Royal College of Physicians.
Marrying, Bushnan lived in
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
in the Scottish Borders; and did some work for the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) was founded in London in 1826, mainly at the instigation of Whig MP Henry Brougham, with the object of publishing information to people who were unable to obtain formal teaching or who pr ...
. He then had a period studying at
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, where he graduated M.D, in 1836. Returning to England, he went into practice at
Castle Cary
Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.
History
The word Cary derives fr ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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.
Bushnan was then abroad, from 1841, to 1848.
Eventually he settled in London, where he filled the post of editor of the ''Medical Times and Gazette'' from 1849 to 1852.
Then for one year he was chief physician of the
Metropolitan Free Hospital
The Metropolitan Free Hospital was a London hospital, founded in 1836 and based for most of its existence in Kingsland Road, Hackney. It became part of the NHS in 1948, and closed in 1977, with its residual functions transferring to Barts Hospit ...
.
In 1852 also he became medical superintendent at
Wyke House Asylum
John Robinson (1727–1802) was an English lawyer, politician and government official.
He was a treasury secretary of obscure origin, characterized by extraordinary diligence, efficiency, persistence, and deep conservatism.
Life
Born on 15 Jul ...
, a post he held for five years. He then bought his way into the
Laverstock House Asylum, which he owned in the period 1860 to 1867.
After a break in London, Bushnan went again into practice in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, in 1871. He retired in 1882.
At the end of his life, Bushnan's sight failed, and he ended his days as a "poor brother" of the
London Charterhouse
The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Farringdon, London, dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square, and lies within the London Borough of Islington. It was originally built ( ...
, where he died on 17 February 1884, aged 76.
Works
Bushnan published:
* ''A History of a Case of Animals in the Blood of a Boy'', 1833;
* Translated from the German,
Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach
Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1 February 1792 – 11 November 1847) was a German surgeon. He was born in Königsberg and died in Berlin.
Dieffenbach specialized in skin transplantation and plastic surgery. His work in rhinoplastic and maxillo ...
's ''Surgical Observations on the Restoration of the Nose'', and an ''Introduction to the Study of Nature'' (1833);
* ''Philosophy of Instinct and Reason'' (1837);
* ''Ichthyology'' (1840) in the Naturalist's Library;
* ''Observations on Hydropathy'', (1845);
* ''Cholera and its Cures'' (1850);
* ''Address to the Medical Students of London'' (1850);
* ''The Moral and Sanitary Aspects of the New Central Cattle-market'' (1851);
* ''Miss Martineau and her Master'' (1851), against
Harriet Martineau
Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on racism, race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Th ...
and her ''Letters on the Laws of Man's Social Nature'';
* ''Homeopathy and the Homeopaths'' (1852);
* ''Household Medicine and Surgery'' (1854);
* Contribution to ''
Orr's Circle of the Sciences
''Orr's Circle of the Sciences'' was a scientific encyclopedia of the 1850s, published in London by William Somerville Orr.
William S Orr & Co.
William S. Orr & Co. was a publisher in Paternoster Row, London. It put out the '' British Cyclopà ...
'' (1854), of which Bushnan was the series editor, as well as writing in the first volume;
[John Stevenson Bushnan, ''The principles of animal and vegetable physiology: a popular treatise on the functions and phenomena of organic life: to which is prefixed a general view of the great departments of human knowledge'' (1854), p. iii]
archive.org.
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* ''Religious Revivals'' (1860)
* ''Our Holiday at Laverstock House Asylum'' (1860).
In 1861-2 Bushnan wrote two reviews in the ''Journal of Mental Science''.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnan, John Stevenson
1807 births
1884 deaths
19th-century English medical doctors
English medical writers
English psychiatrists
English male non-fiction writers
19th-century English male writers