Sir Victor Alexander Haden Horsley (14 April 1857 – 16 July 1916) was a British scientist and professor. He was born in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, London. Educated at
Cranbrook School, Kent
Cranbrook School (formerly Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School) is a co-educational state funded boarding and day grammar school in the market town of Cranbrook, Kent, England.
Selection is made of pupils at age 11 and 13.
History
The school wa ...
, he studied medicine at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
and in Berlin, Germany (1881) and, in the same year, started his career as a house surgeon and registrar at the
University College Hospital
University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...
. From 1884 to 1890, Horsley was Professor-Superintendent of the
Brown Institute. In 1886, he was appointed as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the
National Hospital for Paralysis and Epilepsy
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...
, and as a Professor of Pathology (1887–1896) and Professor of Clinical Surgery (1899–1902) at University College London. He was a supporter of
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and was an opponent of tobacco and alcohol.
Personal life
Victor Horsley was born in Kensington, London, the son of Rosamund Haden and
John Callcott Horsley
John Callcott Horsley RA (29 January 1817 – 18 October 1903) was an English academic painter of genre and historical scenes, illustrator, and designer of the first Christmas card. He was a member of the artist's colony in Cranbrook.
Child ...
,
R.A. His given names, Victor Alexander, were given to him by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.
[
]
In 1883, he became engaged to Eldred Bramwell, daughter of Sir
Frederick Bramwell
Sir Frederick Joseph Bramwell, 1st Baronet FRS FRSA (17 March 1818 – 30 November 1903) was a British civil and mechanical engineer. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1873 and served as president of the Institution of Civil Engineers ...
. On 4 October 1887, Victor and Eldred married at
St. Margaret's, Westminster
The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...
. They had two sons, Siward and Oswald, and a daughter, Pamela.
He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the
1902 Coronation Honours
The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...
, receiving the accolade from 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 an ...
at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
on 24 October that year.
Victor Horsley was a champion of many causes. One of his primary life's crusades was the temperance movement. Having observed that many injuries admitted to the hospital were due to alcohol, Horsley threw himself into becoming a temperance reformer. He soon rose up to the position of a vice-president of the
National Temperance League
The Anti-Saloon League (now known as the ''American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems'') is an organization of the temperance movement that lobbied for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century.
Founded in 1893 in Ober ...
and the president of the
British Medical Temperance Association
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
. In 1907, along with
Dr. Mary Sturge, he published a book on alcoholism titled ''Alcohol and the Human Body''.
According to his biographers, Tan & Black (2002), "Horsley's kindness, humility, and generous spirit endeared him to patients, colleagues, and students. Born to privilege, he was nonetheless dedicated to improving the lot of the common man and directed his efforts toward the
suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
of women, medical reform, and free health care for the working class (...) An
iconoclast
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
of keen intellect, unlimited energy, and consummate skill, his life and work justify his epitaph as a "pioneer of neurological surgery".
Medical career
Horsley specialised in surgery and in
physiology
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 chemical ...
. He was the first physician to remove a
spinal tumor
Spinal tumors are neoplasms located in either the vertebral column or the spinal cord. There are three main types of spinal tumors classified based on their location: extradural and intradural (intradural-intramedullary and intradural-extramedullar ...
, in 1887, by means of a
laminectomy
A laminectomy is a surgical procedure that removes a portion of a vertebra called the lamina, which is the roof of the spinal canal. It is a major spine operation with residual scar tissue and may result in postlaminectomy syndrome. Depending ...
. He developed many practical neurosurgical techniques, including the hemostatic
bone wax
Bone wax as a sterile preparation for surgeryBone wax is a waxy substance used to help mechanically control bleeding from bone surfaces during surgical procedures.
It is generally made of beeswax with a softening agent such as paraffin or petrol ...
, the
skin flap, the ligation of the
carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to:
* Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery
* External carotid artery, an artery on each side of t ...
to treat cerebral
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...
s, the transcranial approach to the
pituitary gland
In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The ...
and the intradural division of the
trigeminal nerve
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewin ...
root for the surgical treatment of
trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN or TGN), also called Fothergill disease, tic douloureux, or trifacial neuralgia is a long-term pain disorder that affects the trigeminal nerve, the nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as ...
.
As a neuroscientist, he carried out studies of the functions of the brain in animals and humans, particularly on the
cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex, also known as the cerebral mantle, is the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum of the brain in humans and other mammals. The cerebral cortex mostly consists of the six-layered neocortex, with just 10% consisting of ...
. His studies on motor response to faradic
electrical stimulation
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a technique that uses low-energy electrical pulses to artificially generate body movements in individuals who have been paralyzed due to injury to the central nervous system. More specifically, FES can ...
of the cerebral cortex,
internal capsule
The internal capsule is a white matter structure situated in the inferomedial part of each cerebral hemisphere of the brain. It carries information past the basal ganglia, separating the caudate nucleus and the thalamus from the putamen and the ...
and
spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...
became classics of the field. Those studies later translated into his pioneering work on
neurosurgery
Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...
for
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
. Between 1884 and 1886, Horsley was the first to use intraoperative electrical stimulation of the cortex for the localization of epileptic foci in humans, preceding
Fedor Krause
Fedor Krause (10 March 1857 – in Friedland in Niederschlesien; 20 September 1937 in Bad Gastein) was a German neurosurgeon who was native of Friedland (Lower Silesia).
Biography
He originally studied music at the Conservatoire in Berl ...
and
Wilder Penfield
Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American Canadians, American-Physicians in Canada, Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of th ...
.
He was also a pioneer in the study of the functions of the
thyroid
The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...
gland. He studied
myxedema
Myxedema is a term used synonymously with severe hypothyroidism. However, the term is also used to describe a dermatological change that can occur in hyperthyroidism and (rare) paradoxical cases of hypothyroidism. In this latter sense, myxedema ...
and
cretinism
Congenital iodine deficiency syndrome is a medical condition present at birth marked by impaired physical and mental development, due to insufficient thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) often caused by insufficient dietary iodine during pregnancy. It ...
, which are caused by a decreased level of the thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism), and established for the first time, in experiments with monkeys, that they could be treated with extracts of the gland.
Appointed in 1886 as secretary to a governmental commission formed to study the anti-rabies
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
developed by
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
, Horsley corroborated his results and created a campaign to vaccinate against
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...
in the United Kingdom. As a pathologist, he carried out research on bacteria and founded the ''
Journal of Pathology''.
In June 1886, he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
and, in 1891, jointly with his brother-in-law
Francis Gotch
Francis Gotch (13 July 1853 – 15 July 1913) was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University.
He was educated at Amersham Hall School and then at London University graduati ...
, delivered their
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.
Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single l ...
on the subject of the mammalian nervous system. In 1893, he was awarded the
Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh. A year later, in 1894, he won the
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...
for "his investigations relating to the physiology of the nervous system, and of the thyroid gland, and to their applications to the treatment of disease".
Horsley, who had been a keen rifle shot when serving in the
Artists' Rifles as a medical student, also investigated the effect of gunshot wounds on the brain, experimenting with animals provided by a butcher and using the recently issued
Lee-Metford rifle.
[ It dates the beginning of the experiments to 1894.] He concluded that the immediate cause of death that follows was due to respiratory failure, not heart failure.
[ It dates beginning of the experiments to 1893.]
His best-known innovation is the
Horsley–Clarke apparatus, developed in 1908 together with
Robert H. Clarke, for performing the so-called
stereotactic surgery, whereby a set of precise numerical coordinates are used to locate each brain structure. He was a pioneer in neurosurgery, and operated on a total of 44 patients.
He authored the book ''Functions of the Marginal Convolutions'' (1884) and, as a co-author, ''Experiments upon the Functions of the Cerebral Cortex'' (1888) and ''Alcohol and the Human Body'' (1902).
Political career
Horsley was a
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
supporter and contested the December 1910 General election as Liberal candidate for the
London University
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- ...
seat. The
Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society
The Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society (ADAVS) was an animal rights advocacy organisation, co-founded in England, in 1903, by the animal rights advocates Lizzy Lind af Hageby, a Swedish-British feminist, and the English peeress Nina Do ...
campaigned against his election because of his involvement with vivisection.
[The Newly Restored Bird Bath Memorial near the Thomas Carlyle Statue]
Hilda Kean
Hilda Kean (born August 1949) is a British historian who specialises in public and cultural history, and in particular the cultural history of animals. She is former Dean and Director of Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, and an Honora ...
, hildakean.com Following the election, he was adopted as prospective Liberal candidate, first for
Islington East
Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...
and then, in 1913, for
Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the ad ...
in Leicestershire. Harborough was a Liberal seat and a general election, expected to take place in 1914 would most likely have seen him elected to parliament. However, he resigned as prospective candidate, citing opposition to his views on women's suffrage and temperance on the part of constituency officials,
just before the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
started.
Horsley strongly supported the Liberals' welfare state initiative, the
National Insurance Act of 1911, despite strong opposition from most of his medical colleagues.
[Michael S. Dunnill, "Victor Horsley (1857–1915) and National Insurance." '']Journal of Medical Biography
The ''Journal of Medical Biography'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1993 covering the lives of people in or associated with medicine, including medical figures and well-known characters from history and their afflictions. The jo ...
'' 21.4 (2013): 249-254.
First World War service and death
In 1910, Horsley was commissioned as a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the
Territorial Army, in the 3rd London General Hospital of 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 a ...
.
On the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he volunteered for active duty on the
Western Front, where he was initially posted as surgeon at the British hospital at
Wimereux
Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the b ...
, France.
[ In May 1915, he was posted as a ]colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
and Director of Surgery of the British Army Medical Service in Egypt, based at the 21st General Hospital in Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, in support of the Dardanelles Campaign.[ In the following year, he volunteered for field surgery duty in ]Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, where he died unexpectedly in Amarah
Amarah ( ar, ٱلْعَمَارَة, al-ʿAmārah), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the ...
, Iraq, on 16 July 1916, of heatstroke
Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...
and severe hyperpyrexia
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...
, at only 59 years of age.
Namesakes
Horsley was the first neurosurgeon appointed to the hospital in Queen Square, London
Queen Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of central London. Many of its buildings are associated with medicine, particularly neurology.
Construction
Queen Square was originally constructed between 1716 and 1725. It was forme ...
, now called the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the ...
– the Victor Horsley Department of Neurosurgery is named in his honour. The Walton Centre
The Walton Centre, formerly known as the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, is a major neurology hospital located in the suburb of Fazakerley in the city of Liverpool, England. It is one of several specialist hospitals located within ...
for Neurology & Neurosurgery NHS Trust in Liverpool, England, another leading Neurosurgical Hospital, dedicated its intensive care unit to him, naming it the Horsley ward. At its Annual Representatives Meeting, the British Medical Association has a series of lunchtime lectures entitled The Victor Horsley Lectures. After the second Gulf War, a British Field Hospital was established at Shaibah Logistics Base, and the area of tented accommodation for hospital staff was known as Horsley Lines. Horsley is credited with the invention of the "Horsley Hook", a device which he used to avulse the trigeminal nerve
In neuroanatomy, the trigeminal nerve ( lit. ''triplet'' nerve), also known as the fifth cranial nerve, cranial nerve V, or simply CN V, is a cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and motor functions such as biting and chewin ...
.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, Victor Alexander Haden
1857 births
1916 deaths
People from Kensington
19th-century English medical doctors
Academics of University College London
Alumni of University College London
Anti-smoking activists
English scientists
English suffragists
English neuroscientists
Deaths from hyperthermia
British endocrinologists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons
Food preservation
Fullerian Professors of Physiology
Knights Bachelor
Male feminists
English neurosurgeons
Royal Army Medical Corps officers
Royal Medal winners
People educated at Cranbrook School, Kent
Artists' Rifles soldiers
British Army personnel of World War I
British military personnel killed in World War I
Burials at Amara War Cemetery