Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, (9 June 178321 October 1862) was an English
physiologist
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...
and
surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...
who pioneered research into bone and joint disease.
Biography

Brodie was born in
Winterslow
Winterslow is a civil parish with a population of around 2,000, about northeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, and lying south of the A30 London Road. It is sited on the Roman road between Old Sarum and Winchester.
Settlements in the par ...
, Wiltshire. He received his early education from his father, the Rev Peter Bellinger Brodie; then choosing medicine as his profession he went to London in 1801 and attended the lectures of
John Abernethy and attended
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...
. Two years later he became a pupil of
Sir Everard Home
Sir Everard Home, 1st Baronet, FRS (6 May 1756, in Kingston upon Hull – 31 August 1832, in London) was a British surgeon.
Life
Home was born in Kingston-upon-Hull and educated at Westminster School. He gained a scholarship to Trinity Colle ...
at
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...
, and in 1808 was appointed assistant surgeon at that institution, on the staff of which he served for over thirty years. In 1810 he was elected a fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, to which in the next four or five years he contributed several papers describing original investigations in physiology.
In 1834, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
.
During this period he also rapidly obtained a large and lucrative practice and from time to time wrote on surgical questions, contributing numerous papers to the
Medical and Chirurgical Society (of which he was President in 1839) and to the medical journals. His most important work is widely acknowledged to be the 1818 treatis
''Pathological and Surgical Observations on the Diseases of the Joints'' in which he attempts to trace the beginnings of disease in the different tissues that form a joint and to give an exact value to the symptom of pain as evidence of organic disease. This volume led to the adoption by surgeons of more conservative measures in the treatment of diseases of the joints, with the consequent reduction in the number of
amputation
Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...
s and the saving of many limbs and lives. He also wrote on diseases of the urinary organs and on local nervous affections of a surgical character.
In 1854 he published anonymously a volume of ''Psychological Inquiries'' "... to illustrate ... the Mental Faculties" — by the third edition of 1856, it bore his name. Eight years later, in 1862, a "Second Part" on " ... the Physical and Moral History of Man" appeared. He received many honours during his career and attended to the health of the Royal Family, starting with
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
. He was also sergeant-surgeon to
William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
and
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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and was made a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1834. He became a corresponding member of the
French Institute
The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...
in 1844, a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
and
DCL of Oxford in 1855, president of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1858 and subsequently, the first president of the
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...
.

In 1858
Henry Gray
Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25.
Biography
Gray was born ...
dedicated his work ''
Gray's Anatomy
''Gray's Anatomy'' is a reference book of human anatomy written by Henry Gray, illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter and first published in London in 1858. It has had multiple revised editions, and the current edition, the 42nd (October 2020 ...
'' to Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie.
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie died of a shoulder tumour in Broome Park,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
at the age of 79. His collected works, with autobiography, were published in 1865 under the editorship of Charles Hawkins.
(
Timothy Holmes wrote a 255-page biography ''Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie'' (1898).
)
In 1816 Brodie married Anne Sellon, daughter of an eminent lawyer and they had several children of whom three survived into maturity. His eldest son was the Oxford chemist
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet FRS (5 February 181724 November 1880) was an English chemist.
Biography
Brodie was the son of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (Née Sellon), and was educated at Harrow Sc ...
.
See also
*
List of presidents of the Royal Society
The president of the Royal Society (PRS), also known as the Royal Society of London, is the elected Head of the Royal Society who presides over meetings of the society's council.
After an informal meeting (a lecture) by Christopher Wren at Gresh ...
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodie, Benjamin Collins, 1st Baronet
1783 births
1862 deaths
Nobility from Wiltshire
English surgeons
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Royal Society
Recipients of the Copley Medal
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Benjamin
Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
18th-century English medical doctors
19th-century English medical doctors
People educated at Charterhouse School
British physiologists
Chairs of the General Medical Council