Tweedy John Todd
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Tweedy John Todd (1789–1840) (also known as Tweedie John Todd, or John Tweedy Todd) was an English
doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...
,
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
surgeon and naturalist who conducted early experimental work on healing and regeneration in animals.


Biography


Early life

Tweedy John Todd was born in 1789 in Berwick-Upon-Tweed where his father was a borough treasurer. Todd studied medicine at 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 ...
, but did not complete his degree, joining the Royal Navy instead in 1809.


Navy career

Todd began his career as a Royal Navy surgeon working in the Royal Naval Hospital at Plymouth. He later sailed to the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...
and the Cape of Good Hope and was appointed surgeon on the flagship of Sir Robert Stopford aged only 23. While at the Cape of Good Hope aboard , he performed experiments on the electric ray (''
Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
sp''), which were published in the ''Philosophical Transactions'' ''of the Royal Society.'' Todd retired from the navy in 1816, and lived in Italy for 6 or 7 years. Following this he returned to his studies and completed two medical degrees, first at the
University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...
, then at the
University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...
before ultimately settling in Brighton in 1829, where he developed a medical practice.


Scientific Work

While studying and then working as a physician in Brighton, Todd continued to publish papers on natural history, including work on
fireflies The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
in "The Luminous Power of Some of the Lampyrides" in 1827. In 1831 wrote "The Book of Analysis. A New Method of Experience", in order to encourage physicians and scientists to apply the
Baconian method The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Sir Francis Bacon, one of the founders of modern science, and thus a first formulation of a modern scientific method. The method was put forward in Bacon's book ''Novum Organum'' (1620) ...
of inductive reasoning to medicine and the other natural sciences. Todd began experiments on healing using
newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...
s at the British Naval base in Naples, and continued when he moved to Brighton. He conducted a series of experiments on the newts and other animals such as worms to study the processes of healing and regeneration of wounds and amputated body parts. These were the first experiments that proved that nerves have a role in healing, and that amphibian limbs cannot regenerate if the nerves are cut. He observed the healing process microscopically and collaborated with histologist Charles Ager to produce over 3,000 microscope slides to illustrate his findings. These slides are amongst the earliest surviving examples of the use of Canada balsam as a mountant. Todd's research was not well known in the second half of the 19th century, but was the basis of many studies in the early 20th century, and more recently the importance of Todd's work has been acknowledged by medical historians. Todd died from
Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
on 4 August 1840, in
Hurst Hurst may refer to: Places England * Hurst, Berkshire, a village * Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet * Hurst, a settlement within the village of Martock, Somerset * Hurst, West Sussex, a hamlet * Hurst Spit, a shingle spit in Hampshire ** Hur ...
, Sussex. He was aged 50 or 51. After his death his large collection of microscope slides came to the attention of Richard Owen, who was then the conservator of the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, but would later become the first director of the
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
. Owen was impressed by the quality of the slides and in 1841 he purchased 1,500 of them for £150 to use in the teaching of surgeons. The slides are considered to be important in the history of medicine,
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vi ...
and microscopy and they remain in the College's collection today.


Published works

* Some Observations and Experiments Made on the ''Torpedo'' of the Cape of Good Hope in the Year 1812. John T. Todd ''Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.'' 1816 106, 120-126, published 1 January 1816 * The Regeneration of Parts in the Aquatic Salamander ''Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature and Arts'' 1823 * The Luminous Power of Some of the Lampyrides 1827 * ''The Book of Analysis: Or, a New Method of Experience, Whereby the Induction of the Novum Organon f F. BaconIs Made Easy of Application'', 1831, Published by John Murray, London


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Tweedy John 1789 births 1840 deaths Royal Navy officers English surgeons English naturalists 19th-century British scientists 19th-century biologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Aberdeen