William Tilbury Fox, MD, FRCP (1836 – 7 June 1879) was an English

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medical ...

. He was born in

Broughton, Hampshire Broughton is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, about north of Romsey. The Manor of Broughton is recorded in the Domesday Book and was held at different times by the Earl of Southampton, and the Duk ...

the son of physician Luther Owen Fox and Mary (née Tilbury) Fox, and the brother of Thomas Colcott Fox, also a dermatologist. From 1853 Tilbury Fox attended 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 ...

medical school. He graduated in 1857 and received his MD in 1858. His first job was at University College Hospital as house physician to

Sir William Jenner Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, Order of the Bath, GCB, Physician Extraordinary to His Majesty, QHP, Royal College of Physicians, FRCP, Royal Society, FRS (30 January 181511 December 1898) was a significant English physician primarily known fo ...

who was in charge of the dermatology department. He later took jobs at the

General Lying-in Hospital The General Lying-In Hospital was one of the first maternity hospitals in Great Britain. It opened in 1767 on Westminster Bridge Road, London and closed in 1971. Lying-in is an archaic term for childbirth (referring to the month-long bed rest pre ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

and at a

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

. He decided to specialise in

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and took the position of physician-accoucheur at the Farringdon General Dispensary. He was also a senior physician at St John's Hospital for Skin Diseases. In 1863 he published ''Skin Diseases of Parasitic Origin'', in which he was the first physician in the UK to create a thorough study of the pathology and causes of

dermatophytosis Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...

(ringworm). At this time, he decided to specialise in dermatology rather than obstetrics. In 1864, Fox developed an interest in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

dermatology with a trip to India with the Earl of Hopetoun. As a result of this trip he published ''Scheme for obtaining a better knowledge of endemic skin diseases in India, prepared with T. Farquhar, for the India Office'' in 1872. In 1866, he took the position of physician to the skin department at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

and in 1868 he became the physician in charge of the dermatology department back at University College Hospital. In the 1870s,

Henry Radcliffe Crocker Henry Radcliffe Crocker, FRCP (6 March 1846 – 22 August 1909) was an English dermatologist. Originally from Hove in Sussex, England, Crocker started his working life as an apprentice to a general practitioner before going to London to at ...

came to the University College Hospital and worked under Fox in the dermatology department. At this time, the practice of specialising in medicine was frowned upon in the United Kingdom (although more popular in continental Europe), but Fox and Crocker were credited with bringing some structure to the field of dermatology. Fox wrote extensively on the subject and in 1875, he published a revised version of ''Atlas of Skin Diseases'' by

Robert Willan __NOTOC__ Robert Willan (12 November 1757, near Sedbergh, Yorkshire – 7 April 1812, in Madeira) was an English physician and the founder of dermatology as a medical specialty. Life Willan was educated at Sedbergh School, and received his M ...

. He also had an editorial position at ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

''. William Tilbury Fox died of an aortic condition on 7 June 1879 in Paris, France, at the age of 43. He was survived by his wife Sophia Campbell Fox and was buried at Willesden cemetery in London.

Bibliography

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''Cholera Prospects: Compiled from Personal Observation in the East: for the Information and Guidance of Individuals and Governments'' (1865)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, William Tilbury 1836 births 1879 deaths English dermatologists Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians People from Test Valley Physician-accoucheurs