Henry Hill Hickman
Who was Henry Hill Hickman?
In the 1820's Henry Hill Hickman, an English practitioner and surgeon, proposed that gas by inhalation
could be used to induce pain-free surgery.
Henry Hill Hickman
Larger image, in a new window [28kb]
[Reproduced with kind permission of "The Wellcome Trustees"]
|
Henry Hill Hickman was born on the 27th of January 1800 at Halton near Bromfield in South Shropshire. He was the son of a tenant farmer. Little is known about his early education but he probably trained as a surgeon by apprenticeship
to a local man. In those days surgery was very basic and surgeons were not highly respected. In 1819 he went to Edinburgh as a medical student leaving before getting his degree. He then spent sometime in London where he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1820.
|
Corve Street where Hickman practiced
[Shropshire Archive reference: PH/L/31/10]
|
In 1820 he returned to Shropshire where he started a medical practice in Corve Street, Ludlow. While he was in this practice he carried out a series of experiments in anaesthesia
. The photograph shows Corve Street in the early 20th century which probably had changed little since Hickman's day.
Continue
Find out about Hickman's Experiments: Next
Return to top of page
|
