George Savage (physician)
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Sir George Henry Savage (12 November 1842 – 5 July 1921) was a prominent English psychiatrist.


Early life

Savage was born in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in 1842, the son of a chemist. Educated at
Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...
, he served an internship at
Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...
from 1861. After 1865, he was resident at Guy's; he earned his MD in 1867. He remained a regular lecturer at the hospital for decades after. During his time as a doctor for a mining company in
Nenthead Nenthead ( ) in the county of Cumbria is one of England's highest villages, at around . It was not built until the middle of the 18th century and was one of the earliest purpose-built industrial villages in Britain. History Nenthead was a ma ...
, he met his wife, Margaret Walton; however, she died after a year of marriage. They had one child.


Bethlem and private practice

Shortly after his wife's death Savage accepted an appointment as an assistant medical officer at
Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably '' Bedlam'', a 1946 film with ...
. By 1878 he had become chief medical officer at the hospital; in the same year, he became MRCP. Also from 1878 to 1894 Savage co-edited the ''Journal of Mental Science'' — which changed its name to ''The British Journal of Psychiatry'' in 1963 — with
Thomas Clouston Sir Thomas Smith Clouston (22 April 1840 – 19 April 1915) was a Scottish psychiatrist. Life Clouston was the youngest of four sons of Robert Clouston (1786–1857) 3rd of Nisthouse, in the Birsay parish of Orkney, and his wife Janet (né ...
and
Daniel Hack Tuke Daniel Hack Tuke (19 April 18275 March 1895) was an English physician and expert on mental illness. Family Tuke came from a long line of Quakers from York who were interested in mental illness and concerned with those afflicted. His great-gr ...
. He published regularly in this journal until the end of his career. At Bethlem and after he was sparing in his use of chemical sedation, although his freedom with physical restraint drew criticism from
Henry Maudsley Henry Maudsley FRCP (5 February 183523 January 1918) was a pioneering English psychiatrist, commemorated in the Maudsley Hospital in London and in the annual Maudsley Lecture of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Life and career Maudsley w ...
, J. C. Bucknill, and others. Over the course of the 1880s private practice took up more of Savage's time; he retired from Bethlem in 1888 to devote himself entirely to private practice. In 1882 he married Adelaide Sutton, the daughter of another doctor. He drew his private clientele from wealthy or well-connected London society.
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...
saw him intermittently for a decade, and he is among the figures lampooned in the Sir William Bradshaw of ''
Mrs. Dalloway ''Mrs. Dalloway'' is a novel by Virginia Woolf, published on 14 May 1925, that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels. The working ...
''. At the same time, he worked as a consultant for a number of asylums, and was often called in on especially difficult cases. His major public work was ''Insanity and Allied Neuroses'', a reference book for students; published in 1884, it was revised and reissued in 1894 and 1907. In 1909 he delivered the
Harveian Oration The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...
to the
Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
on the subject of ''Experimental Psychology and Hypnotism''. He was knighted in 1912.


References


Bibliography

* Andrews, Jonathan (2004). "Sir George Savage." ''
Oxford 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 ...
''. Retrieved September 26, 2007. * Bynum, William, et al. (2004). ''The Anatomy of Madness: Essays in the History of Psychiatry''. London: Taylor and Francis. * Fennell, Phil (1996). ''Treatment Without Consent''. London: Routledge. * Freeman, Hugh (1999). ''A Century of Psychiatry''. London: Mosby.
Savage, G.H., ''Insanity and Allied Neuroses: Practical and Clinical'', Cassell and Company Limited, (London), 1884.

Savage, G.H., ''Insanity and Allied Neuroses: Practical and Clinical (Second Edition)'', Cassell and Company Limited, (London), 1886.

Savage, G.H., ''Insanity and Allied Neuroses: Practical and Clinical (Third Edition)'', Cassell and Company Limited, (London), 1891.

Savage, G.H., Insanity and Allied Neuroses: Practical and Clinical (Fourth Edition), Cassell and Company Limited, (London), 1893.

Savage, G.H,''The Harveian Oration on Experimental Psychology and Hypnotism Delivered before the Royal College of Physicians of London, October 18, 1909'', Henry Frowde, (London), 1909.
* Trombley, Stephen (1981). ''All That Summer She Was Mad: Virginia Woolf and her Doctors''. London: Junction Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, George 1842 births 1921 deaths Medical doctors from Brighton English psychiatrists People educated at Brighton College