Charles Ransford, M.D., was a traditionally educated British physician and a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

, who later became the private physician of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

and an early

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

homoeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

medicine.

Early life

Ransford was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Gloucestershire,

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, in about 1808, the son of Edward Ransford, Jr. (1766–1842) and Mary Jarrett.

Fellow in Edinburgh

Ransford began his medical education at the

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...

. He later studied in London and Paris before attending the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he graduated with his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1833. In 1835 he was inducted as a Fellow of the

. He fulfilled this position for the next 15 years. He was elected the college's treasurer and examiner, and had the task of straightening out its finances during a period of financial turmoil. During his tenure as an

FRCPE The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty (medicine), specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was establish ...

, Dr. Ransford was an outspoken critic of homoeopathy, even blocking the election of a Fellow candidate who professed faith in homoeopathy. In 1835 Ransford was elected a member of the

Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...

and served as President in 1846. In 1839 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

Private practice

In 1848, Dr. Ransford resigned from his position in Edinburgh and entered into a

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partnership in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

, Northumberland, England. It was during his time in Alnwick that Dr. Ransford first embraced homoeopathic medicine. After seeing its benefits with his patients, he began conducting his own homoeopathic experiments. He consulted with Dr. Rutherford Russell and Dr. Hayle of Rochdale. So swayed in his thinking, Dr. Ransford wrote an essay for the '' British Journal of Homoeopathy'' that was later made into a pamphlet entitled, "''Reasons for Embracing Homoeopathy''". Other homoeopathic articles written by Dr. Ransford include, "''The Prevention and Treatment of Scarlatina''" and "''The Pathogenic Symptoms of Mercurius''". Dr. Ransford eventually became the physician of the

, a prominent proponent of homoeopathy. Dr. Ransford later moved his practice to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, where he remained for ten years, after that removing to

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where he practiced into the 1880s. He finally settled in Winchester, Hampshire.

Personal life

On 28 August 1833, Charles Ransford married St. Clair Inglis (1802-1910) at Leopold Place in Edinburgh,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Ransford's wife was a native of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and a member of the Smalls of

Dirnanean Dirnanean House is part of a private, traditional Highland estate located near Enochdhu in Moulin parish, Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, 10 miles ENE of Pitlochry. The Dirnanean estate is situated adjacent to ...

. She was the granddaughter of

Charles Spalding Charles Spalding (29 October 1738 – 2 June 1783) was an Edinburgh confectioner and amateur engineer who made improvements to the diving bell. He died while diving to the wreck of the ''Belgioso'' in Dublin Bay using a diving bell of his own ...

, an Edinburgh confectioner and an improver of the

diving bell A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...

who drowned in

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

in 1783 while diving in a bell of his own design. Dr. Ransford's oldest daughter was Episcopalian

Deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

, Charlotte Spalding Ransford. A brother-in-law of Dr. Ransford, and a fellow physician, was Dr. James Inglis. Charles Ransford died on 11 July 1886 at The Hospital of St. Cross in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Hampshire, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ransford, Charles 1800s births 1886 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century British medical doctors Office bearers of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh