Octavius Sturges (1833 – 3 November 1894) was a British paediatrician who coined the term "

chorea Chorea (or choreia, occasionally) is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias. The term ''chorea'' is derived from the grc, χορεία ("dance"; see choreia), as the quick movement ...

Early life

He was born in London in 1833, the eighth son (hence the name) of John and Elisabeth Sturges. He attended King's College School and then was sent to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

's Addiscombe Military Seminary, Croydon. After graduation in 1852 he served two years in the army as an officer in the

in Bombay, but his military career ended in his erroneous diagnosis of aortic aneurysm. In 1857 he returned to the UK.

Career

In July 1858 he enrolled at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

to study medicine and graduated B.A. in 1861, M.B. in 1863, and M.D. in 1867. He then began practice in

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 ...

, becoming medical registrar in 1863. He left to be assistant-physician at the

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

in 1868 and became full physician in 1875. He was made assistant-physician to the Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street in 1873, and full physician in 1884. At the time of his death he was senior physician there and at the Westminster Hospital. He became a member 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 1863, and was elected Fellow in 1870. He delivered the 1894

Lumleian Lectures The Lumleian Lectures are a series of annual lectures started in 1582 by the Royal College of Physicians and currently run by the Lumleian Trust. The name commemorates John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, who with Richard Caldwell of the College endow ...

on the subject of heart inflammation in children. He wrote a number of articles but he is best remembered for his two books ''The Natural History of Pneumonia'' (1876) and ''Chorea and Whooping Cough'' (1877) He died in 1894 from injuries received when knocked down by a

hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, ...

and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

. He was unmarried.

Publications

''Chorea and Whooping Cough: Five Lectures''
(1877)
''On Chorea and Other Allied Movement Disorders of Early Life''
(1881)
''In the Company's Service: A Reminiscence''
with Mary Sturges (1883)
''The Natural History and Relations of Pneumonia; its Causes, Forms, and Treatment: a Clinical Study''
with Sidney Coupland (1890, 2nd edition); (1876, 1st edition by Octavius Sturges alone)

Articles

* Abstract of a Clinical Lecture on a Fatal Case of Pneumonia after an Accident ''Br Med J'' 1879;1:300 * The Nomenclature of Pneumonia and other Allied Lung-Inflammations ''Br Med J'' 1881;1:11 * The Heart Symptoms of Chorea ''Brain'' 1881;4(2):164-189 * Remarks on Some Special Characters of the Present Epidemic of Typhoid Fever in London ''Br Med J'' 1882;2:1239 * The Rheumatic Origin of Chorea ''The Lancet'' 1883;122(3141):808–810 * The Kindred of Chorea ''American Journal of the Medical Sciences'' 1891;102(6):578-586 * The Lumleian Lectures on Heart Inflammation in Children ''Br Med J'' 1894;1:505, 1894;1:561 and 1894;1:623 * Empyema in Childhood ''The Lancet'' 1894;143(3689):1215-1216

Correspondence

* The Westminster Hospital ''Br Med J'' 1871;2:451.3 * The Treatment of Pneumonia ''Br Med J'' 1873;2:739.1 * Out-Patients' Medical Relief ''Br Med J'' 1875;1:495.1 * Dissolution of the Medical Teachers' Association ''Br Med J'' 1876;2:840.1 * Is Collective Investigation Dangerous? ''Br Med J'' 1884;1:483.2 * Collective Investigation ''Br Med J'' 1884;2:1097.1 * The Collective Investigation Committee ''Br Med J'' 1884;2:985.1 * The Pathology of Acute Pneumonia ''Br Med J'' 1885;1:99.1 * Pneumonic Fever, Old and New ''Br Med J'' 1889;1:1030.2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturges, Octavius 1833 births 1894 deaths Medical doctors from London Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge British paediatricians