William Dalrymple (17 August 1772 – 5 December 1847) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

. He learned his trade in London and practised in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, initially from his father's house and later in the

Norfolk and Norwich Hospital The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital stood on a site in St Stephen's Road, Norwich, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1771, it closed in 2003 after its services had been transferred to the new Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Many of the buildings ...

. He received attention for successfully performing the then rare operation of tying 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 ...

Early life

Dalrymple was born in 1772 in

, England, where his father, a native of

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

and relative of the

Earl of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, had been a prominent lawyer; having served as Lord President ...

, had settled. He was initially educated at the Grammar School in

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, ...

then at

Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...

under Dr. Parr, and among his school friends was

Edward Maltby Edward Maltby (6 April 1770 – 3 July 1859) was an English clergyman of the Church of England. He became Bishop of Durham, controversial for his liberal politics, for his ecumenism, and for the great personal wealth that he amassed. Early ...

, afterwards bishop of Durham. After an apprenticeship in London to Messrs. Devaynes & Hingeston, court apothecaries, and studying at the Borough hospitals under

Henry Cline Henry Cline (1750–1827) was an English surgeon and president of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was also a political radical, associated with leading supporters of the French Revolution, a farmer, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Life ...

and

Astley Cooper Sir Astley Paston Cooper, 1st Baronet (23 August 176812 February 1841) was a British surgeon and anatomist, who made contributions to otology, vascular surgery, the anatomy and pathology of the mammary glands and testicles, and the pathology ...

, he returned to Norwich in 1793 and opened a surgery in his father's house.

Medical career

His ardent advocacy of liberal opinions retarded his progress for some years, and it was not till 1812 that he became assistant-surgeon of the

, being elected a full surgeon in 1814. In 1813 he attracted great attention by his successful performance of the then rare operation of tying the common

. He attained great success as an operator, especially in

lithotomy Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" (cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), tha ...

. He formed a valuable collection of anatomical and pathological preparations, which he gave to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital on his retirement from practice in 1844.

Later life

He married in July 1799 Miss Marianne Bertram, by whom he had a family of six sons and three daughters, who survived him. Among them was John Dalrymple (1803–1852). In 1839 he retired his position as surgeon due to his health giving way; his many operative successes had been won in spite of feeble health. He retired entirely from practice in 1844. His last years were passed in London, where he died on 5 December 1847. He is interred directly below the surgeon

Robert Liston Robert Liston (28 October 1794 – 7 December 1847) was a British surgeon. Liston was noted for his speed and skill in an era prior to anaesthetics, when speed made a difference in terms of pain and survival. He was the first Professor of Cli ...

in the Terrace Catacombs on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

Character sketch

George Thomas Bettany George Thomas Bettany (30 March 1850 – 2 December 1891) was an English biologist, anthropologist, and author of scientific and popular works. Born in Penzance, Cornwall, the son of George Bettany, a schoolmaster and journalist. Bettany was edu ...

, writing in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', described Dalrymple's character: "His sense of responsibility and honour was high, his character and conversation were elevated, and his teaching judicious."

Bibliography

Besides a few papers in

medical journals Medical literature is the scientific literature of medicine: articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of medicine. Many references to the medical literature include the health care literature generally, including that of denti ...

, Dalrymple made no contribution to literature. Among his papers may be mentioned "A Case of Trismus", in ''

Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal The ''Scottish Medical Journal'' is a general medical journal, which publishes original research in all branches of medicine, review articles, history of medicine articles, and clinical memoranda. The editor-in-chief is Ghulam Nabi (University o ...

,'' vol. i. 1805; and "A Case of Aneurism cured by Tying the Left Common Carotid Artery", in '' Medico-Chirurgical Transactions'', vol. vi. 1815.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple, William 1772 births 1847 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English surgeons Medical doctors from Norwich People educated at Norwich School