William Birmingham Costello (1800–1867) was an Irish surgeon,

alienist Alienism is an obsolete term for psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cogn ...

and medical author.

Life

Costello was born near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and was educated there. He then spent the 1820s in Paris, a student of surgery under

Jean Civiale Jean Civiale (1792–1867) was a French surgery, surgeon and urologist, who, in 1823,Jean Civi ...

Guillaume Dupuytren Baron Guillaume Dupuytren (; 5 October 1777 – 8 February 1835) was a French anatomist and military surgeon. Although he gained much esteem for treating Napoleon Bonaparte's hemorrhoids, he is best known today for his description of Dupuytren's ...

and

Charles Louis Stanislas Heurteloup Charles Louis Stanislas Heurteloup (16 February 1793, in Paris – 1864) was a French physician. He was the son of military physician Nicolas Heurteloup (1750–1812). He studied medicine in Paris, where he obtained his degree in 1823. He is cr ...

. In 1829 Costello set up himself in London as a surgeon, specialising in the stone and lithotrity. He wrote journal articles, and lectured in the transient

Brewer Street Brewer Street is a street in the Soho area of central London, running west to east from Glasshouse Street to Wardour Street. The street was first developed in the late 17th century by the landowner Sir William Pulteney. It first appears on ...

medical school, with

John Epps Dr John Epps (15 February 1805 – 12 February 1869) was an English physician, phrenologist and homeopath. He was also a political activist, known as a champion of radical causes on which he preached, lectured and wrote in periodicals. Life Ear ...

and Michael Ryan. Subsequently, he became medical superintendent of Wyke House Asylum, near

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

. In later life Costello lived in Paris, working mostly as a writer. He died there on 15 August 1867.

Works

Costello edited the ''Cyclopædia of Practical Surgery, including a copious bibliography''; of which 12 parts were published in London, 1841–3. Contributors included

Walter Hayle Walshe Walter Hayle Walshe (1812–1892) was an Irish physician, a pioneer in the study of cancer with his discovery that malignant cells can be recognised under a microscope.Devra Lee Davis, ''The Secret History of the War on Cancer'' (2007), p. 109Goo ...

, and

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

who wrote on "cleft palate". In his Paris years, Costello was able to complete the work in four volumes (1861), using his own English translations of articles by French surgeons. Costello wrote also ''An Address to the Visiting Justices of the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum'' (1839), and ''A Letter to Lord Ashley on the Reform of Private Lunatic Asylums'' (1845).

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, William Birmingham 1800 births 1867 deaths Irish surgeons Irish psychiatrists Irish medical writers Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Irish expatriates in France