Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet, (6 August 1820 – 18 April 1904) was a British surgeon and
polymath. His interest was particularly in the
surgery of the genito-urinary tract.
Medical career
Thompson was born at
Framlingham, Suffolk. His father wished him to enter business, but he was eventually (by 1848) able to enrol in the Medical School of
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = � ...
. He obtained his medical degree in 1851 with the highest honours in
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...
and surgery and set up a practice at 35
Wimpole Street in London, where he lived and worked until his death in 1904.
In 1853 he was appointed assistant surgeon at
University College Hospital, becoming full surgeon in 1863, professor of clinical surgery in 1866, and consulting surgeon in 1874. In 1884 he became professor of surgery and pathology in 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 ...
. Specializing in surgery of the
genito-urinary tract, and in particular in that of the
bladder
The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine en ...
, he studied in Paris under
, who in the first quarter of the 19th century had developed a procedure to crush a
stone within the human bladder and who had invented an instrument for this
minimally invasive
Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by definition ...
surgery.
After his return from Paris, Thompson soon acquired a reputation.
In 1863, when King
Leopold I of Belgium was suffering from
kidney stones, Thompson was called to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to consult in the case, and after some difficulties was allowed to perform the operation of
lithotripsy
Lithotripsy is a non-invasive procedure involving the physical destruction of hardened masses like kidney stones, bezoars or gallstones. The term is derived from the Greek words meaning "breaking (or pulverizing) stones" ( litho- + τρίψω rip ...
. It was successful, and in recognition of his skill Thompson was appointed surgeon-extraordinary to the King, an appointment which was continued by
Leopold II. Nearly ten years later Thompson carried out a similar operation on the former Emperor
Napoléon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
; however, the Emperor died four days after, not from the surgical procedure, as was proved by the
post-mortem examination, but from
uremia
Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be no ...
.
In 1874 Thompson helped in founding the ''
Cremation Society of Great Britain
The Cremation Society of Great Britain (now known as The Cremation Society) was founded in 1874 to promote the use of cremation as an alternative means of dealing with the bodies of the dead instead of burial which until then was the only option. T ...
'', of which he was the first president; he also did much toward the removal of the legal restrictions on
cremation. He denounced the prevailing methods of
death certification in Great Britain; and in 1892 a select committee was appointed to inquire into the matter; its report, published the following year, was generally in line with his thinking.
Woking Crematorium finally became the first of its kind in the UK. Thompson's last public duty for the society, in 1903, was to open
Birmingham Crematorium
Birmingham Crematorium is a Protestant crematorium in the Perry Barr district of Birmingham, England, designed by Frank Osborne and opened in 1903. A columbarium was added in 1928. The crematorium is now owned and operated by Dignity plc.
Op ...
,
the country's ninth.
He died in April 1904 aged 83; his body was cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium, the first in London, which he had opened in 1902.
Personal life
Thompson was also an artist, producing sketches and paintings, some of which were hung at the
Royal Academy of Arts and in the
Paris Salon. About 1870 he began to collect Chinese
porcelain, in particular of old blue and white
Nanking; in time his collection became so large that he could no longer find room for it, and most of it was sold. A catalogue of it, illustrated by himself and
James Whistler, was published in 1878.
He was also interested in
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
, and for a time maintained a private
observatory in his house at
Molesey
Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames.
East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retail ...
. He presented the
Royal Greenwich Observatory several instruments, including a photographic
heliograph of 9-inch
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An opti ...
; a 30-inch
reflecting telescope, and a large
refracting telescope
A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and a ...
with a 26-inch object glass (of 22 feet
focal length). The offer of the last instrument was made in 1894. Its manufacture was undertaken by
Sir Howard Grubb of Dublin, and its erection was completed in 1897.
Sir Henry Thompson,
knighted in 1867, received a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
cy in 1899, in connection with his telescope gifts to the National Observatory.
In 1851 he married
Kate Loder
Kate Fanny Loder, later Lady Thompson, (21 August 1825 – 30 August 1904) was an English composer and pianist.
Biography
Kate Loder was born on 21 August 1825, on Bathwick Street, Bathwick, within Bath, Somerset where the Loder family we ...
, a pianist, who was stricken with
paralysis soon afterwards. On his death, his only son,
Herbert, a
barrister and
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
, succeeded to the baronetcy. Of his two daughters, the elder (author of a valuable ''Handbook to the Public Picture Galleries of Europe'', first published in 1877) married
Henry William Watkins,
Archdeacon of Durham
The Archdeacon of Durham is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the diocese of Durham ( Church of England). They have, within the geographical area the ''archdeaconry of Durham'', pastoral oversight of clergy and care of church buildings (among othe ...
. The younger daughter, Helen Edith Thompson, married the Ven.
Henry Lawe Corry Vully de Candole. They had two sons, the youngest was the World War I poet
Alec de Candole
Thompson believed in an impersonal God. In his 1903 essay ''"The Unknown God?"'', he promoted the idea that an eternal source of energy exists in the universe that is beneficent and intelligent but not personal. He argued that all the major religions which are regarded as "divinely" inspired are unsubstantiated and unsupported by evidence.
Debate over vegetarianism
Thompson was incorrectly cited and misquoted by vegetarians as being a supporter of
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
. For example, he is cited as supporting a vegetarian diet in
Gandhi's essay ''The Superiority of Vegetarianism''. Thompson rejected excessive meat consumption and promoted a "lighter" diet but was not a vegetarian. He was involved in a debate over vegetarianism which led to controversy in the ''
Nineteenth Century'' magazine.
Thompson authored two articles on vegetarianism, in 1898. Thompson stated that those that consume only from the vegetable kingdom can be called "vegetarians", not those that consume animal products such as dairy and eggs.
Josiah Oldfield responded to this by stating that eggs and milk "may rightly form an integral part of a vegetarian dietary" and vegetarianism does not equate to only vegetable eating.
[Oldfield, Josiah. (1898). ''Vegetarian Still: A Reply to Sir Henry Thompson''. '' Nineteenth Century'' 44: 246-252.]
Works
The Royal College of Surgeons in 1852 awarded Thompson the Jacksonian Prize for an essay on the ''Pathology and Treatment of Stricture of the Urethra'' (on
stenosis of the
urethra
The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra con ...
, a common condition in the times of
gonorrhea and other
sexually transmitted diseases); and again in 1860 for his essay on the ''Health and Morbid Anatomy of the
Prostate Gland''. These two memoirs belong to
urology, his
medical speciality
A medical specialty is a branch of medical practice that is focused on a defined group of patients, diseases, skills, or philosophy. Examples include those branches of medicine that deal exclusively with children (paediatrics), cancer (oncology), ...
. Besides devising operative improvements, he wrote books and papers dealing with them, including:
*''Practical Lithotomy and Lithotrity'',
*''Tumours of the Bladder'',
*''Suprapubic Lithotomy'', and
*''Preventive Treatment of Calculus Disease'',
''Moderate Drinking'' 1877.
''Food and Feeding'' 1879.
''Clinical Lectures on Diseases of the Urinary Organs'' 1882.
''The Pathology and Treatment of Stricture of the Urethra and Urinary Fistulae'' 1885.
*
'Why Vegetarian?'', 1898.
*
'Why Vegetarian'?: A Reply to Critics', 1898.
''Diet in Relation to Age & Activity'' 1901.
''"The Unknown God?": An Essay'' 1903
He produced two successful novels, ''Charley Kingston's Aunt'' (1885) and ''All But'' (1886).
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
highlights Sir Thompson's gifts of astronomical instruments.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Henry
1820 births
1904 deaths
19th-century British male writers
19th-century British medical doctors
19th-century British novelists
Thompson, Henry, 1st Baronet
British male novelists
British non-fiction writers
British surgeons
British urologists
Court physicians
Diet food advocates
Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons
Golders Green Crematorium
People from Framlingham
Male non-fiction writers