Sir Anthony Carlisle

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal ...

, FRS (15 February 1768 in

Stillington, County Durham Stillington is a village in the civil parish of Stillington and Whitton, in County Durham, England, northwest of Stockton-on-Tees. Governance Stillington is under the jurisdiction of Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council and is represented ...

, England – 2 November 1840 in London) was an English

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Life

He was born in Stillington, County Durham, the third son of Thomas Carlisle and his first wife, and the half-brother of

Nicholas Carlisle Sir Nicholas Carlisle, KH, FRS, MRIA, (1771 in York, England – 27 August 1847 in Margate, England) was an English antiquary and librarian. In 1806, he became a candidate for the office of Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, which he o ...

. He was apprenticed to medical practitioners in York and Durham, including his uncle Anthony Hubback and William Green. He later studied in London under John Hunter. In 1793 he was appointed Surgeon at

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 th ...

in 1793, remaining there for 47 years. He also studied art at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. In 1800, he and William Nicholson discovered

electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...

by passing a voltaic current through water, decomposing it into its constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

in 1804. He was Professor of Anatomy of the Society from 1808 to 1824. In 1815 he became a member of the council of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

, and served as president of the College in 1828 and 1837. He twice delivered their

Hunterian oration The Hunterian Oration is a lecture of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The oration was founded in 1813 by the executors of the will of pioneering surgeon John Hunter, his nephew Dr Matthew Baillie and his brother-in-law Sir Everard Hom ...

, causing consternation at his second oration in 1826 by using the occasion to talk about oysters, earning the epithet of Sir Anthony Oyster. He also delivered their

Croonian Lecture The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians. Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single ...

in 1804, 1805 and 1807. He was Surgeon Extraordinary (1820–1830) to King George IV, by whom he was knighted on 24 July 1821. It is possible that he may have been the author of ''

The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey ''The Horrors of Oakendale Abbey'' is a gothic novel first published in 1797 in one octavo volume by the sensationalist Minerva Press of London. It proved particularly popular with the new circulating libraries of the day. A gothic tale of horro ...

'', a

gothic novel Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...

published anonymously in 1797 and attributed to a "Mrs Carver". The name "Carver" may be a reference to Carlisle's profession. The name Carlisle is even mentioned in the book itself.

Family

He had married Martha Symmons, daughter of John Symmons, in Alcester, Warwickshire on 23 August 1800. On his death in 1840 he was buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

References

;Attribution

External links

*
Anthony Carlisle's ''An essay on the disorders of old age: and on the means for prolonging human life'' (Philadelphia, 1819)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlisle, Anthony 1768 births 1840 deaths People from Stillington, County Durham British surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery

Life

Family

See also

References

External links