Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870) Masters of Medicine   By: Henry Laing Gordon

(1811 1870)

BY H. LAING GORDON

LONDON T. FISHER UNWIN PATERNOSTER SQUARE MDCCCXCVII

Copyright by T. Fisher Unwin, 1897, for Great Britain and Longmans Green & Co. for the United States of America

MASTERS OF MEDICINE

EDITED BY ERNEST HART, D.C.L

"HOMINES AD DEOS NULLA IN RE PROPIUS ACCEDUNT QUAM SALUTEM HOMINIBUS DANDO."

CICERO.

Title. Author.

JOHN HUNTER Stephen Paget WILLIAM HARVEY D'arcy Power SIR JAMES SIMPSON H. Laing Gordon EDWARD JENNER Ernest Hart HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ John G. McKendrick WILLIAM STOKES Sir William Stokes CLAUDE BERNARD Michael Foster SIR BENJAMIN BRODIE Timothy Holmes THOMAS SYDENHAM J. F. Payne VESALIUS C. Louis Taylor

[Illustration: J. Simpson]

To PROFESSOR ALEXANDER RUSSELL SIMPSON

"Him by the hand dear Nature took, Dearest Nature, strong and kind."

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

"When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it."

Id.

PREFACE

I have endeavoured to condense the vast amount of matter which has been written concerning this Master of Medicine and his work into the form of a readable narrative, and to represent him in his social and intellectual environment in accordance with the object of this Series. The selections from his own writings illustrate as far as possible his versatility and many sided character. I have chosen for quotation out of the numerous sketches and memoirs of him those written from undoubted knowledge of the man.

I am indebted especially to Professor A. R. Simpson for kind advice, to Mr. Cuthbertson of the Edinburgh University Library for useful help, to Mr. C. Louis Taylor for valuable criticism, and to my wife for assistance in research and compilation. I have also to thank those friends who from time to time have favoured me with personal reminiscences of Sir James.

The following are the chief works, in addition to Simpson's own writings, from which my information has been drawn: (1) "The Jubilee of Anæsthetic Midwifery"; (2) "Keiller and Credé"; (3) "History of the Chair of Midwifery in the University of Edinburgh," being addresses by Professor A. R. Simpson; (4) Miss Eve B. Simpson's "Sir James Simpson"; and her (5) "Dogs of other Days;" (6) "Twenty Years and their Lesson; a Retrospect and Review" ( Scots Observer , 1891); (7) Dr. Duns's "Memoir of Sir J. Y. Simpson"; (8) Professor Gusserow's "Zur Erinnerung an Sir J. Y. Simpson"; (9) Mr. Cuthbertson's "Student's Pilgrimage"; (10) "The Story of Edinburgh University," by Sir A. Grant; (11) "The Life of Sir Robert Christison"; (12) "The Life of Robert Knox"; and numerous back numbers of the Century Magazine , the Lancet , the British Medical Journal , the Medical Times and Gazette , the Edinburgh Medical Journal , &c., &c.

FOREST HILL, October, 1897 .

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE. I. Birth and Childhood. (1811 1825) 1 II. Student Days. (1825 1830) 17 III Further Studies. (1830 1835) 36 IV. Early Practice and Professorship. (1835 1840) 52 V. Professor and Physician. (1840 1847) 66 VI. The Discovery of Anæsthetics. (1844 1847) 88 VII. The Fight for Anæsthesia. 1847 onwards 111 VIII. Home Life Controversies 133 IX. Archæology Practice 152 X. Personal Professorial Professional 164 XI. Further Reforms Honours 186 XII. Failing Health Death 202 Appendix 223 Index 227

SIR JAMES SIMPSON

CHAPTER I