Matthew Baillie
FRS (27 October 1761 – 23 September 1823) was a British physician and
pathologist
Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...
, credited with first identifying
transposition of the great vessels
Transposition of the great vessels (TGV) is a group of congenital heart defects involving an abnormal spatial arrangement of any of the great vessels: superior and/or inferior venae cavae, pulmonary artery, pulmonary veins, and aorta. Congenita ...
(TGV) and
situs inversus
Situs inversus (also called situs transversus or oppositus) is a congenital condition in which the major visceral organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. The normal arrangement of internal organs is known as situs solitus. Al ...
.
Early life and education
He was born in the manse at
Shotts
Shotts is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The village has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertram de ...
in
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland.
Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...
, the son of Rev Prof James Baillie DD (1723-1778) and his wife, Dorothea Hunter (sister of
Dr John Hunter and
Dr William Hunter.
His father was Professor of Divinity at
Glasgow University
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, caption = Coat of arms
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, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. His sisters were centenarian Agnes Baillie (1760-1761) and poet/author
Joanna Baillie
Joanna Baillie (11 September 1762 – 23 February 1851) was a Scottish poet and dramatist, known for such works as ''Plays on the Passions'' (three volumes, 1798–1812) and ''Fugitive Verses'' (1840). Her work shows an interest in moral philoso ...
. He was a pupil of his uncle, the anatomist
John Hunter and his father-in-law,
Dr. Thomas Denman, a pre-eminent obstetrician in London at the turn of the nineteenth century, whose textbook on childbirth had been first published in 1788. Baillie was educated at the Old Grammar School of Hamilton (renamed the
Hamilton Academy
Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...
in 1848), the
University of Glasgow
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, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, and obtained his MD from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
in 1789, having been named
Snell Exhibitioner
The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 1677 ...
in 1779.
Career
He was bequeathed £5000n on the death of his uncle
William Hunter in 1783, also inheriting his uncle's house in Great Windmill Street in London, plus the adjacent
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
and museum. Baillie taught at the school from 1783 to 1803.
He then taught anatomy and was appointed Physician at
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...
in 1789, but gave up both posts to establish his own medical practice in Grosvenor Square, becoming Physician in Ordinary to George III. He became Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
in 1790, specialising in
morbid anatomy.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1790 and delivered their
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.
Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single l ...
in 1791 (on the subject of muscles). He was also the second President of the
Medical and Chirurgical Society of London
The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London was a learned society of physicians and surgeons which was founded in 1805 by 26 personalities in these fields who had left the Medical Society of London (founded 1773) because of disagreement with the ...
1808–1810.
It was said of him,
Death
Baillie died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
on 23 September 1823 in Duntisbourne, Gloucestershire, England at the age of 61 and was buried in
Duntisbourne Abbots
Duntisbourne Abbots is a village and civil parish located in the English county of Gloucestershire.
Duntisbourne Abbots forms part of the Cotswold District.
The Five Mile House is a 17th-century Grade II listed public house at Old Gloucester ...
, Gloucestershire. There is also a memorial to him within
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. The memorial (with bust) is by
James Heffernan working in the studio of
Francis Chantrey
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
.
Family
Baillie was married to Sophia Denman, the sister of
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, (23 July 177926 September 1854) was an English lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850.
Background and education
Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas Den ...
.
Works
His 1793 book, ''The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body,'' is considered the first systematic study of pathology, and the first publication in English on pathology as a separate subject. He is credited with first identifying
transposition of the great vessels
Transposition of the great vessels (TGV) is a group of congenital heart defects involving an abnormal spatial arrangement of any of the great vessels: superior and/or inferior venae cavae, pulmonary artery, pulmonary veins, and aorta. Congenita ...
(TGV) and ''
situs inversus
Situs inversus (also called situs transversus or oppositus) is a congenital condition in which the major visceral organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. The normal arrangement of internal organs is known as situs solitus. Al ...
''. The 1793 book went into multiple editions and was translated into numerous languages, and five editions were released in Britain before his death.
* ''The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body'' (1793)
* ''Anatomy of the Gravid Uterus, by William Hunter published by Baillie'' (1794)
* ''A Series of Engravings, tending to illustrate the Morbid Anatomy of some of the most Important Parts of the Human Body'' (1799, 1802, 1812)
* ''Lectures and Observations on Medicine by the late Matthew Baillie'' (1825)
* ''An Account of a Particular Change of Structure in the Human Ovarium'' (Philosophical Transactions, London, 1789, Vol.79, pp. 71–78)
References
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Further reading
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See also
*
Dr. Sir Richard Croft, 6th Baronet
*
Hunterian Collection
The Hunterian Collection is one of the best-known collections of the University of Glasgow and is cared for by the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and Glasgow University Library. It contains 650 manuscripts and some 10,000 printed books,
External links
AIM25: Royal College of Physicians: BAILLIE, Matthew (1761–1823)Royal College of Physicians.
Balliol College, Oxford, archivesList of Snell Exhibitioners from the University of Glasgow. Retrieved 2011-01-20
Selected images from ''A series of engravings''From The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, Matthew
1761 births
1823 deaths
People from Shotts
People educated at Hamilton Academy
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Scottish anatomists
18th-century Scottish medical doctors
19th-century Scottish medical doctors
Scottish pathologists
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Fellows of the Royal Society