Sir Henry Wentworth Dyke Acland, 1st Baronet, (23 August 181516 October 1900) was an English physician and educator.

Life

Henry Acland was born in Killerton,

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, the fourth son of Sir Thomas Acland and Lydia Elizabeth Hoare, and educated at Harrow and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was elected

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All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

in 1840, and then studied medicine in London and

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. Returning to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, he was appointed Lee's reader in anatomy at Christ Church in 1845, was made 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 ...

in 1847, and in 1851 was appointed Radcliffe librarian and physician to the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. Closed in 2007, after refurbishment the building was re-opened in October ...

. Seven years later, he became Regius Professor of Medicine, a post which he retained till 1894. He was also a curator of the university galleries and the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. From 1858 to 1887, he represented his university on 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 ...

, of which he served as president from 1874 to 1887. In 1860 he accompanied the then Prince of Wales as his physician on his Canada and the United States tour. Acland was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in 1883, and was promoted to a

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

(KCB) in 1884. He was created 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 1890, and ten years later, he died at his house in

Broad Street, Oxford Broad Street is a wide street in central Oxford, England, just north of the former city wall. The street is known for its bookshops, including the original Blackwell's bookshop at number 50, located here due to the University of Oxford. Among re ...

(number 40 on the site of the new Bodleian Library building). Acland took a leading part in the revival of the Oxford medical school and introduced the study of natural science into the university. As Lee's reader, he began to form a collection of anatomical and physiological preparations on the plan of John Hunter, and the establishment of the

Oxford University Museum The Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH) is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It also contains a lecture theatre which is used by the univers ...

, opened in 1861, as a centre for the encouragement of the study of science, especially concerning medicine, was due primarily to his efforts. "To Henry Acland," said his lifelong friend,

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

, "physiology was an entrusted gospel of which he was the solitary preacher to the heathen," but on the other hand, his thorough classical training preserved science at Oxford from too abrupt a severance from the humanities. In conjunction with Dean Liddell, he revolutionised the study of art and archaeology, to cultivate these subjects, for which, as Ruskin declared, no one at Oxford cared before that time, began to flourish in the university. Acland was also interested in questions of public health. He served on the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on sanitary laws in England and Wales in 1869. He published a study of the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreak at Oxford in 1854, together with various pamphlets on sanitary matters. His memoir on the topography of the

Troad The Troad ( or ; , ''Troáda'') or Troas (; , ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula ( Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Çanakkale Province of modern Tur ...

, with a panoramic plan (1839), was among the fruits of a cruise he made in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

for his health. Acland was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1873. His son, Colonel Alfred Dyke Acland, married Hon. Beatrice Danvers Smith, daughter of Rt. Hon. W. H. Smith of the Newsagents dynasty on 30 July 1885 and gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1910 in the service of the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry (Territorial Army). Another son, Theodore Dyke Acland married the daughter of Sir William Gull, a leading London medical practitioner and one of the Physicians-in-Ordinary to HM Queen Victoria.

Marriage and children

Acland-henry-wentworth-1815-19-travelers-by-a-swiss-glacier

He married Sarah Cotton, daughter of William Cotton and Sarah Lane, on 14 July 1846. They had seven sons and a daughter: *

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir William Alison Dyke Acland, 2nd Baronet (1847–1924) * Sarah Angelina Acland (1849–1930) * Henry Dyke Acland (1850–1936) * Theodore Dyke Acland (1851–1931), the father of Theodore Acland (1890–1960) * Herbert Dyke Acland (1855–1877) * Sir Reginald Brodie Dyke Acland (1856–1924) * Francis Edward Dyke Acland (1857–1943) * Alfred Dyke Acland (1858–1937) The old Acland Hospital, initially in Wellington Square, Oxford and later on the Banbury Road in

(now part of

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

), was founded in memory of Acland's wife,

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

. Their daughter, Sarah Acland, subsequently lived in Park Town and was an early pioneer of colour photography. Some of her photographs are in collection of the

Museum of the History of Science The History of Science Museum in Broad Street, Oxford, England, holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from Middle Ages to the 19th century. The museum building is also known as the Old Ashmolean Building to distinguish it from th ...

in Broad Street, opposite the family home.

References

External links

*
Gardner's 1852 Directory for the City of Oxford
entry * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Henry 1815 births 1900 deaths 301 Henry Wentworth Dyke Medical doctors from Exeter People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English curators 19th-century English medical doctors Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society Regius Professors of Medicine (University of Oxford) Chairs of the General Medical Council Burials at Holywell Cemetery Younger sons of baronets Nathaniel Cotton family