Professor Robert Henry Elliot

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

(23 August 1864 – 9 November 1936) was a British ophthalmic surgeon and author, an expert on snake venom and on Indian magic.

Biography

Born on 23 August 1864, Robert Elliot was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and at the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital. He entered the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

and was gazetted surgeon-lieutenant on 30 January 1892. He served on the North West Frontier, between 1892 and 1893, and was Superintendent of the Government Ophthalmic Hospital,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, and professor of

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

Madras Medical College Madras Medical College (MMC) is a public medical college located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established on 2 February 1835, it is the second oldest medical college in India, established after Calcutta Medical College. History The Governme ...

, between 1904 and 1914. He gained a D.Sc. from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1904 with a thesis on the pharmacology of cobra venom. He was Hunterian Professor at the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

, between 1916 and 1917, and Chairman of the Naval and Military Committee of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

, between 1917 and 1922. In 1919 he was appointed as lecturer in

at the

London School of Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

, and as ophthalmic surgeon at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Professor Elliot was a talented conjuror and was Chairman of the Occult Committee of The Magic Circle between 1919 and 1936. He declared that there is nothing in Indian medicine which is unknown in Europe and he considered that such phenomena as transfixion of the tongue and neck are anatomically possible. So far as

firewalking Firewalking is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot embers or stones. It has been practiced by many people and cultures in many parts of the world, with the earliest known reference dating from Iron Age India . It is often used as a rite ...

is concerned, the essential factor is the extreme toughness of the feet of people who always walk barefoot. He allowed full credit to the Indian conjurers' extreme manipulative dexterity, but suggested that the Indian repertory is extremely limited. As for the

Indian rope trick The Indian rope trick is a magic trick said to have been performed in and around India during the 19th century. Sometimes described as "the world’s greatest illusion", it reputedly involved a magician, a length of rope, and one or more boy ass ...

, he concluded that no such trick has ever been performed. On snakes, Professor Elliot declared that the cobra is timid and inoffensive, will not strike unless alarmed by a sudden movement, has a limited range, and does not always strike effectively. An antidote for snake bites, he claimed, has been found, but each variety demands its own antidote and the process of making it is not yet available for emergencies. Professor Robert Elliot died in

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

on 9 November 1936.Obituary, ''The Times'', 10 November 1936

Publications

*''Researches into the Nature and Action of Snake Venom'', ''British Medical Journal'', 1900, 1, 309 and 1146; 2, 217
''Sclero-Corneal Trephining in the Operative Treatment of Glaucoma''
London, 1913; 2nd edition, 1914
''Glaucoma, a Handbook for the General Practitioner''
London, 1917
''The Indian Operation of Couching for Cataract''
London, 1918
''Glaucoma, a Textbook for the Student of Ophthalmology
', London, 1918
''A Treatise on Glaucoma''
London, 1918; 2nd edition, 1922
''Tropical Ophthalmology''
London, 1920, translated into French, and into Spanish, 1922 *''The Care of Eye Cases'', London, 1921, translated into Chinese
''The Myth of the Mystic East''
London, 1934
''Indian Conjuring''
Nature, 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Robert Henry 1864 births 1936 deaths People educated at Bedford School Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons British magicians British ophthalmologists