Thomas Jeeves Horder, 1st Baron Horder, (7 January 1871 – 13 August 1955) was a British physician best known for his appointments as physician-in-ordinary to Kings Edward VII, Georges V and VI, and extra physician to Queen Elizabeth II. He was also the chosen physician of three prime ministers. He was knighted in 1918, made a baronet in 1923 and raised to the peerage in 1933.

Biography

Early life and education

Thomas Jeeves Horder was born on 7 January 1871, the son of draper Albert Horder, in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. Jeeves was his mother's maiden name. He was educated privately, and 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 ...

and

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 (die ...

, London.

Career

Horder began his career at

, where his first junior post was under Samuel Gee. When still quite young, Horder successfully made a difficult diagnosis on

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

which made his reputation. In 1908 he was appointed as the first physician to the Cancer Hospital, later known as the

Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and D ...

. His patients included every British monarch from Edward VII to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

(except Edward VIII). They also included two prime ministers, Ramsay MacDonald and Bonar Law, and labour leader Hugh Gaitskell. He was involved in many official committees including advising the

Ministry of Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war he opposed many of Aneurin Bevan's plans for a national health service and may have helped modify some of those less palatable to the medical profession. He held the positions of Deputy Lieutenant County of Hampshire; Extra Physician to the Queen (formerly Extra Physician to King George VI); and Consulting Physician to St Bartholomew's Hospital (1912–1936). Knighted in 1918, he was created 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 ...

in 1923. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Horder, of Ashford in the County of Southampton on 23 January 1933. Horder served as president of the British Eugenics Society from 1935 to 1949. He was president of 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 ...

from 1940 to his death in 1955. He was president of

The Peckham Experiment The Peckham Experiment was an experiment designed to determine whether people as a whole would, given the opportunity, take a vested interest in their own health and fitness and expend effort to maintain it. The experiment took place between 192 ...

in 1949.

Marriage and children

In 1902 Horder married Geraldine Rose Doggett (1872–1954), of Newnham Manor, Hertfordshire, whose maternal grandfather was James Smith Rose of Arley House,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, who in 1873 was the

Mayor of Totnes Totnes, Devon, England received its first borough charter from King John and the recorded list of mayors dates from 1359. The town was incorporated in 1505 with a governing structure consisting of a mayor, recorder and a single council of burgess ...

. Their son was the publisher Mervyn Horder (1910–1997). Their daughter Joy Horder married Edward Cullinan, chief physician at St Bartholomew's Hospital; their son was British architect

Edward Cullinan Edward Horder Cullinan HonFRIAS (17 July 1931 – 11 November 2019) was an English architect. Life Born in central London to Joy, an artist mother, and Edward, a doctor, Cullinan was educated at Ampleforth College, Queens' College, Cambri ...

. Endowed with abundant health and vitality to the end he was succeeded in his title by his son.

Awards and honors

*1918:

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

*1923: created ''

of Shaston'' *1925: Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

*1933: created ''1st Baron Horder , of Ashford in the County of Southampton'' *1938: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order *Hon. DCL ( Dunelm.) *Hon. MD (Melbourne and Adelaide)

Death and afterward

He lived for many years at Steep near

Petersfield, Hampshire Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

, where he died on 13 August 1955.

Published works

Articles

* "Medicine and the State." ''

JAMA ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...

'', vol. 140, no. 14 (August 6, 1949): 1135–1192. .

Books

''Clinical Pathology in Practice''.
London: H. Frowde (1910) * ''Cerebro-Spinal Fever''. London: Hodder & Stoughton (1915) * ''Medical Notes''. London: Hodder & Stoughton (1921) * ''Essentials of Medical Diagnosis'' with A. E. Gow. Cassell & Co. (1928) * ''Health and a Day''. Dent (1938) * ''Obscurantism''. Watts & Co. (1938) * ''Lessons Taught by War-time Feeding'' (1943) * ''Rheumatism''. H. K. Lewis & Co., (1944) * ''Health and Social Welfare, 1944–1945''. London & New York: Todd Publishing Company (1944) * ''Health and Social Welfare, 1945–1946''. * ''Diet and Rheumatism'' (1945) * ''British Encyclopaedia of Medical Practice'' (editor). Butterworth (1950–1952) * ''Fifty Years of Medicine''.

Duckworth Duckworth may refer to: * Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth'' * Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales'' * Duckworth Books, a British publishing house * , a frigate * Duckworth, W ...

(1953) * ''Bread: The Chemistry and Nutrition of Flour and Bread'' with

Sir Charles Dodds Sir Edward Charles Dodds, 1st Baronet (13 October 1899 – 16 December 1973) was a British biochemist. Personal life He was born in Liverpool in 1899, the only child of Ralph Edward Dodds, a shoe retailer, and Jane (née Pack) Dodds. The family ...

and T. Moran. Constable (1954)

Book contributions

"Methods of Obtaining Material from the Body for Bacteriological Examination (revised and amplified)"
(Chapter 7). In: ''A Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology'', by

Rudolf Abel Rudolf Ivanovich Abel (russian: Рудольф Иванович Абель), real name William August Fisher (11 July 1903 – 15 November 1971), was a Soviet intelligence officer. He adopted his alias when arrested on charges of conspiracy by ...

, pp. 178–184. Translated by M. H. Gordon.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(1907). . *
2nd English ed.
(1912). London: H. Frowde & Hodder & Stoughton. . * Foreword t
''Poverty and Population: A Factual Study of Contemporary Social Waste''
by

Richard M. Titmuss Richard Morris Titmuss (1907–1973) was a pioneering British social researcher and teacher. He founded the academic discipline of social administration (now largely known in universities as social policy) and held the founding chair in the s ...

, x-xiii. London: Macmillan (1938) * Foreword to ''Democracy Marches'', by Julian Huxley, ix-x. London: Chatto & Windus with

Hogarth Press The Hogarth Press is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that was founded as an independent company in 1917 by British authors Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond (then in Surrey and n ...

; New York:

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

(1941). .

References

External links

Works by Horder
at Semantic Scholar * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horder, 1st Baron Horder, Horder, Thomas 1871 births 1955 deaths Alumni of the University of London Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People from Shaftesbury People from Steep, Hampshire Barons created by George V