Sir Henry Marsh, 1st Baronet (1790 – 1 December 1860) was an Irish physician and surgeon. He was born in

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

in Ireland. He was one of the medical doctors associated with Basedow's syndrome, which is also known as Marsh's disease and currently as

Graves' disease Graves' disease, also known as toxic diffuse goiter or Basedow's disease, is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. It frequently results in and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism. It also often results in an enlarged thyro ...

.Sir Henry Marsh
WhoNamedIt.com.

Biography

The son of the Rev. Robert Marsh of Killinane,

, great-grandson of the Most Rev.

Francis Marsh Francis Marsh (23 October 1626 – 16 November 1693) was Archbishop of Dublin from 1682 to 1693. He was admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge in April 1642 as the son of Henry Marsh esq. of Edgeworth, Gloucestershire. He had previously been ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

, and Mary, daughter of Bishop

Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...

. His mother, Sophia Wolseley, was a granddaughter of Sir Richard Woolsey 1st Bt., M.P., of Mount Wolseley,

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

, whose wife was the daughter of Sir Thomas Molyneux, 1st Baronet, the first medical

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 ...

created in Ireland. Marsh originally wanted to engage in farming or in becoming a part of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, before acquiring a career in

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

. After accidentally losing his right

forefinger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...

, injured during an operational procedure he was performing, he left his career in surgery. He was apprenticed to

Sir Philip Crampton Sir Philip Crampton, 1st Baronet, FRS MRCSI MRIA (7 June 1777 – 10 June 1858) was an eminent Irish surgeon and anatomist. He was President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1811, 1820, 1844 and 1855. Life Crampton was b ...

, whose uncle the Rev. Cecil Crampton was married to Marsh's aunt, Nicola Mary Marsh; he received his doctorate in medicine in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1818. After some time in Paris he returned to Dublin and in 1820 was appointed physician at

Dr Steevens' Hospital Dr Steevens' Hospital (also called Dr Steevens's Hospital) (), one of Ireland's most distinguished eighteenth-century medical establishments, was located at Kilmainham in Dublin Ireland. It was founded under the terms of the will of Richard Stee ...

.Alfred Webb: ''A Compendium of Irish Biography''. Dublin, 1878 He established the Park Street Medical School in Dublin in 1822, with the cooperation of his colleagues, namely: Robert James Graves, James William Cusack, Samuel Wilmot, and Arthur Jacob, among others. He taught pathology at this school until 1827. In 1827, he taught surgery at the

Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

. He later became a medical doctor for

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 ...

. In 1839, he was crowned a baronet. In 1840, he became president of the

Royal College of Physicians of Ireland The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI), () is an Irish professional body dedicated to improving the practice of general medicine and related medical specialty, medical specialities, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by e ...

. He died suddenly at his residence in Merrion Square, Dublin, and was buried in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

. Marsh had married Anne (d. 1846), daughter of Thomas Crowe, of Ennis, county Clare, and widow of William Arthur; their son, Henry, a Major in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, (born 3 April 1821, died unmarried 27 May 1868), succeeded his father as the 2nd Baronet according to some sources. Sir Henry married a second time in 1856; she survived him and there were no children of that marriage.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Henry 1790 births 1860 deaths Medical doctors from County Galway Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Irish surgeons Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland People from Loughrea