Samuel Osborne Habershon (1825 – 22 August 1889) was an English physician. Habershon was born at

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

in 1825, and studied medicine (from 1842) at Guy's Hospital, London. He gained numerous scholarships at the

university of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he graduated M.B. in 1848 and

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1851. After being appointed in succession demonstrator of anatomy and of morbid anatomy and lecturer in pathology, he became assistant physician in 1854, and in 1866 full physician to Guy's. He lectured there on materia medica from 1856 to 1873, and on medicine from 1873 to 1877. Having been a member of the

Royal College of Physicians of London 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 ...

from 1851, and fellow from 1856, he was successively examiner, councillor, and censor, and in 1876

Lumleian lecturer 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 endowed ...

, in 1883

Harveian orator The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...

, and in 1887 vice-president of the college. He was president of the

Medical Society of London The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies (being organisations of voluntary association, rather than regulation or training) in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1773 by the Quaker physician and philanthrop ...

in 1873. In November 1880, being then senior physician to Guy's, he resigned his post, together with

John Cooper Forster John Cooper Forster (13 November 1823 – 2 March 1886) was a British surgeon. Biography Forster was born in 1823 in Lambeth, London, where his father and grandfather before him had been local medical practitioners. He entered Guy's Hospital in 1 ...

, the senior surgeon. Habershon died on 22 August 1889 from gastric ulcer, leaving one son and three daughters; his wife had died in April of the same year. As a physician Habershon had a high reputation, especially in abdominal diseases, which he did much to elucidate. He was the first in England to propose the operation of gastrostomy for stricture of the œsophagus, which Cooper Forster performed on a patient of Habershon's in 1858. He was one of the founders of the Christian Medical Association. Habershon wrote, besides twenty-eight papers in 'Guy's Hospital Reports,' from 1855 to 1872, and others in various medical transactions and journals: *'Pathological and Practical Observations on Diseases of the Abdomen,' 1857; fourth ed. 1888; American editions 1859, 1879. *'On the Injurious Effects of Mercury in … Disease,' 1859. * 'On Diseases of the Stomach,' 1866; third ed. 1879; American ed. 1879.
'On Some Diseases of the Liver'
(Lettsomian Lectures), 1872. * 'On the Pathology of the Pneumogastric Nerve' (Lumleian Lectures), 1877
2nd edit. 1885
Italian translation, 1879.

References

Samuel Osborne Habershon
Royal College of Physicians of London (2009)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Habershon, Samuel Osborne 1825 births 1889 deaths 19th-century English non-fiction writers 19th-century English medical doctors People from Rotherham English anatomists Alumni of the University of London English pathologists 19th-century Christians English Christians English medical writers