Sir D'Arcy Power, (11 November 1855 in

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Victor ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

- 18 May 1941) was a British

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, medical historian, and contributor of some 200 articles on famous surgeons and other related figures to the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''.

Medical career

The eldest son of six boys and five girls, D'Arcy was born on 11 November 1855 at 3 Grosvenor Terrace, Pimlico, in London, the son of Henry Power, himself a surgeon. He was educated at

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church ...

and entered

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, before transferring to Exeter College. Though he wanted to be a

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemica ...

, he ended up following his father into becoming a surgeon (at

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

). In this vein, he became a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons 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 ...

in 1883, serving as a member of its council from 1912 to 1928, and being its vice-president for the years 1921 and 1922. He gave the

Bradshaw Lecture The Bradshaw Lectures are prestigious lectureships given at the invitation of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. List of past lecturers at Royal College of Physicians List of past lecturers at Royal Co ...

for 1918, the Vicary lecture for 1920, and delivered the

Hunterian oration The Hunterian Oration is a lecture of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The oration was founded in 1813 by the executors of the will of pioneering surgeon John Hunter, his nephew Dr Matthew Baillie and his brother-in-law Sir Everard Hom ...

in 1925. He was variously also the Mitchell Banks Memorial Lecturer in 1933; a member of the executive committee of the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

; President of the Medical Society of London; President of th
Harveian Society of London
and President of the

History of Medicine Society Founded by Sir William Osler in 1912, the History of Medicine Society (formally "section"), at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), London, is one of the oldest History of Medicine societies in the world and is one of the four founder committees ...

(previously section) at the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

, 1926 to 1928. Power also both taught and examined in medicine and wrote textbooks and articles for a number of medical journals.

Army service

Commissioned as a surgeon in the Volunteer Medical Staff Corps on 25 April 1888, Power was given the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

when its

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

section was created on 31 July 1908, and was attached to 1st London General Hospital. He was mobilised with the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in August 1914, and promoted

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 22 August. Until 1916 he was based at the officers' hospital at Fishmongers' Hall, and then rejoined the main body of 1st London General Hospital, serving until demobilisation in 1920, Power was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in recognition of his service in military hospitals during the First World War in the 1919

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

. He retired from the army on 30 September 1921.

Personal life

Power married Eleanor Fosbroke, daughter of the surgeon George Haynes Fosbroke, in 1883; she predeceased him in 1923. They had two sons and a daughter. The older son, also called D'Arcy Power, followed his father into part-time service in the RAMC in 1911, and during the First World War became a captain and won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. He transferred to the Medical Branch of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

on the formation of the new service on 1 April 1918—taking a permanent commission as a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

in 1920—and ultimately reaching the rank of acting

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

by 1945 when he was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. The younger son, George Henry Fosbroke Power, died at the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

in 1915 when he was serving as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 6th Battalion,

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers R ...

. Power's daughter died young of

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...

. Power, who was presented on his 75th birthday with a bibliography listing 609 of his "selected writings" by a special committee of the Osler Club, was also a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(where he was, for some time, a member of the council) and President of the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history in the United Kingdom. Largely owing to the efforts of Walter Arthur Copinger, who was supported by Richard Copley ...

from 1926 to 1928. He was also in 1903 a founding member of the

Samuel Pepys Club The Samuel Pepys Club is a London club founded in 1903 to do honour to the memory of Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), the English naval administrator and Member of Parliament now best known as a diarist. Origin On 26 May 1903, at the Garrick Club in ...

. After his home was damaged in an air raid in 1940, Power moved in with his son at 53 Murray Road,

Northwood, Middlesex Northwood is an affluent area in northwest London, England. It is located within the London Borough of Hillingdon on the border with Hertfordshire and from Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex and has f ...

, where he died on 18 May 1941.

Notable works

Power's more notable standalone works included:
''William Harvey''
(1897) on the life of

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and propert ...

;
''Portraits of Dr William Harvey''
(1913); * ''Foundations of Medical History'' (1931); * ''A Short History of Surgery'' (1933); * ''Mirror for Surgeons'', an anthology (1939).

References

External links

prepared by the Royal College of Surgeons {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Darcy 1855 births 1941 deaths English surgeons English biographers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Royal Army Medical Corps officers People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Presidents of the History of Medicine Society