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Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in
preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
. He is now best known for the first account of
Hodgkin's disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition ...
, a form of
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include en ...
and
blood disease Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
, in 1832. Hodgkin's work marked the beginning of times when a pathologist was actively involved in the clinical process. He was a contemporary of Thomas Addison and Richard Bright at
Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...
in London.


Early life

Thomas Hodgkin was born to a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
family in
Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...
, St. James Parish, Middlesex, the son of John Hodgkin. He received private education with his brother John Hodgkin, and in 1816 took a position as private secretary to William Allen. His aim was to learn the trade of apothecary, one of the routes into medicine, and Allen, despite prominence in that business, did not make it possible. They parted, and Hodgkin went to an apothecary cousin, John Glaisyer, in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
instead. He inherited property from his great-uncle of the same name, meaning that from age 21 he had a degree of financial independence.


Medical training and travel

In September 1819 Hodgkin was admitted to St. Thomas's and Guy's Medical School. He "walked the wards" for a year on the rounds of physicians and surgeons, and attended lectures, in particular those by
Astley Cooper Sir Astley Paston Cooper, 1st Baronet (23 August 176812 February 1841) was a British surgeon and anatomist, who made contributions to otology, vascular surgery, the anatomy and pathology of the mammary glands and testicles, and the pathol ...
. He then studied at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, where the lecturers who impressed him included Andrew Duncan, the younger, and Robert Jameson in natural history. His first published paper, on the
spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .
, came from Duncan's course, and drew on the veterinary writings of his friend
Bracy Clark Bracy Clark (1771 – 16 December 1860) was an English veterinary surgeon specialising in the horse. Biography He was the youngest son of John and Hannah Clark of Chipping Norton, and was educated at the Quaker school of Thomas Huntley at Burford ...
. During his time as a student, he became a member of the
Royal Medical Society The Royal Medical Society (RMS) is a society run by students at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, Scotland. It claims to be the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom although this claim is also made by the earlier London-based ...
. In 1821, Hodgkin went to France, where he learned to work with the
stethoscope The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, and one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. ...
, a recent invention of René Laennec. He also took account of the exacting statistical and clinical approach of
Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis Pierre-Charles-Alexandre Louis (14 April 178722 August 1872) was a French physician, clinician and pathologist known for his studies on tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and pneumonia, but Louis's greatest contribution to medicine was the development o ...
. He associated there with British expatriates including Robert Knox and
Helen Maria Williams Helen Maria Williams (17 June 1759 – 15 December 1827) was a British novelist, poet, and translator of French-language works. A religious dissenter, she was a supporter of abolitionism and of the ideals of the French Revolution; she was impri ...
. In 1823, he qualified for his M.D. at the University of Edinburgh Medical School with a thesis on the physiological mechanisms of absorption in animals. In Paris Hodgkin met Benjamin Thorpe, a banker for Rothschild's at the time, who was suffering from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...
. Hodgkin became his physician for a while, and Thorpe was cured. This contact led to another appointment as physician to Abraham Montefiore, married to Henriette, daughter of
Mayer Amschel Rothschild Mayer Amschel Rothschild (23 February 1744 – 19 September 1812; also spelled ''Anschel'') was a German-Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance", Rothschild ...
. Once graduated at Edinburgh, Hodgkin joined the couple for travel in Italy. Abraham was seriously ill with tuberculosis (he died in 1824) and the position proved unsatisfactory for both sides, with Hodgkin dismissed. But the relationship he built up with
Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, aft ...
, Abraham's brother, proved a lifelong friendship. Staying in Paris for an extended period from September 1824 to June 1825, Hodgkin made significant medical contacts. The Edwards brothers, William-Frédéric Edwards and Henri Milne Edwards, were both physiologists with distinctive theories, and Hodgkin looked over their work in the next few years. Achille-Louis Foville was a neurologist, around whom Hodgkin tried unsuccessfully, from 1838, to set up a southern version of the York Retreat.


Career at Guy's

Hodgkin found a position at Guy's, first as a volunteer clerk in 1825, and then in 1826 as the curator of the museum there, also carrying out autopsies. He built up his reputation on the work his posts brought him in morbid anatomy (
anatomical pathology Anatomical pathology (''Commonwealth'') or Anatomic pathology (''U.S.'') is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical, immunologic and molecular examination ...
as it is now called). Hodgkin's hospital career came to an end, however, in 1837, when he clashed with the autocratic
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
. Harrison disliked Hodgkin's progressive views, and support for the new
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...
, and had been personally offended by them in one instance (see below). There were two confrontational interviews in which Harrison went over pretexts for not giving Hodgkin a promotion (to Assistant Physician); Hodgkin had also been ill not long before. His friends pushed the issue to an acrimonious vote of the governors, which was in fact hopeless. The position went to the rival candidate Benjamin Guy Babington, and Hodgkin moved reluctantly into private practice, after a period of convalescence. In 1840 he attended the
World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The exc ...
in London representing the Aborigines Protection Society.BFASS Convention 1840
List of delegates, Retrieved 28 August 2015


Lecturer at St. Thomas's

Hodgkin had a further period of involvement with hospital medicine, when in 1842 he was asked to take charge of teaching at
St. Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
. After joint management of Guy's and St. Thomas's had ended in 1825, St. Thomas's had found itself eclipsed as a medical school by its former partner. Hodgkin was brought in, and found new lecturers in Marshall Hall and George Gregory; he lectured himself, and with Charles Barker the four embarked on a lecture series. He also drew on his experience at Guy's to improve the museum and start a Clinical Society for reporting of cases. The outcome, however, was unsatisfactory for him. Hall was much preferred as lecturer, and Gregory, lecturing on skin diseases, gained a reputation for clarity, and wrote a textbook. But Hodgkin was not asked to continue lecturing for another year, ending the relationship.


Last years

In around 1847, Hodgkin became guardian to an Aboriginal Australian youth,
Warrulan Warrulan (sometimes written Warruloong or Warru-loong; known in England as Edward Warrulan; circa 1835–1855) was an Aboriginal Australian, who migrated to England as a boy. He was educated in agriculture and found work as a saddlemaker, dyin ...
, who had been brought to England in 1845 by
Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...
, arranging for him to be educated at the Quaker
Sibford School Sibford School is a British co-educational independent school in Sibford Ferris, west of Banbury in north Oxfordshire, linked with the Religious Society of Friends. The school has both day and boarding pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. It is ...
. Hodgkin married in 1850 Sarah Frances Scaife, a widow; they had no children. When Lady Montefiore died in 1862, Hodgkin promised her to travel with her husband on future journeys. He accompanied
Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, philanthropist and Sheriff of London. Born to an Italian Sephardic Jewish family based in London, aft ...
to Palestine in 1866. There he contracted
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
and died on 4 April 1866. He was buried in
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
.


Interests

Hodgkin like many other Quakers was concerned both with the abolition of slavery and the reduction of the impact of western colonization on indigenous peoples around the world. He stood aside from the Anti-Slavery Society of the 1820s and 1830s, however; the society took a different line on emancipation and colonization in Africa. It refused in the early 1830s to publish his views. Hodgkin began to take multiple initiatives of his own.


Ethnology

Hodgkin had an interest in both the
physical anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...
and the cultural aspects of what would now be
ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...
, before the academic disciplines existed. In his role as keeper of the Museum at Guy's, he collected specimens from peoples from around the world. In 1827, in a letter supporting the missionary
Hannah Kilham Hannah Kilham (1774–1832) née Spurr was an English Methodist and Quaker, known as a missionary and linguist active in West Africa. She was also a teacher and philanthropic activist in England and Ireland. Early life She was born at Sheffield ...
who was working with West African languages, he published for the first time long-held ideas on "
civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Civ ...
"; a Civilization Society in London had been a Hodgkin family initiative some years earlier. In helping to found the Aborigines Protection Society, he argued that languages constituted philological evidence of man's origins, and should therefore be preserved where threatened; he had written a paper on the topic, and proposed a questionnaire, for the
Philological Society The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language as well as a registered charity. The current Society was established in 1842 to "investigate and promot ...
in 1835. For Hodgkin, language was a racial trait. In Paris around the end of 1838, he prevailed upon W. F. Edwards to form a French society with the same aims as the Aborigines Protection Society; and in 1839 the Société Ethnologique de Paris was set up in accordance with Edwards's own ideas. This development was reflected in 1843 when the Ethnological Society of London was set up, diverging from the Aborigines Protection Society by its scientific and linguistic interests, and disconnecting from missionary work.


Colonization in Africa

Hodgkin was a supporter of
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...
in the early days of its foundation; and he compared it favourably to
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
. In supporting
Elliott Cresson Elliott Cresson (March 2, 1796 – February 20, 1854) was an American philanthropist who gave money to a number of causes after a brief career in the mercantile business. He established the Elliott Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute in 184 ...
and the
American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
, he put himself outside the mainstream of Quaker and abolitionist thinking. When the American
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
,
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he fo ...
, toured in England in 1833, Hodgkin tried at first to mediate between Garrison and Cresson. The formation, however, of the British African Colonization Society by Cresson had Hodgkin's support, and he found himself isolated from natural allies who were Quakers or physicians. There were personal attacks on Hodgkin from the Garrison camp.


Hudson's Bay Company

Hodgkin became involved in campaigning concerning the
Boothia Peninsula Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'', Inuktitut ''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large peninsula in Nunavut's northern Canadian Arctic, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point of ...
and the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
around 1836–37, through his friend Richard King. King had been on the expedition of Captain George Back in the north of Canada of 1833–35, and had written an 1836 book, his ''Narrative'', on it; he advocated a further expedition in the same area in 1836–37, a cause Hodgkin took up. Sensitive commercial interests were involved, as the Hudson's Bay Company's license was due for renewal in 1841. The ''Narrative'' contained a piece Hodgkin had written on the indifference of the company to the indigenous peoples of western Canada. Hodgkin then took up the behaviour of the company with Benjamin Harrison, Treasurer of Guy's, disastrously mixing his professional life with his activism: Harrison was concerned in the management of the company as Deputy Chairman, and was related by marriage to John Henry Pelly, the Chairman, who had crossed swords with King at parliamentary hearings. Hodgkin's concerns over the indigenous peoples in the Hudson's Bay Company territory in western Canada continued. They were pursued both by correspondence with Sir George Simpson, and in the pages of the ''Intelligencer'' of the Aborigines Protection Society.


Work in medicine

Hodgkin collaborated with Joseph Jackson Lister, who in 1830 enunciated design principles for the achromatic microscope. By that time Hodgkin and Lister had already published research on tissue samples, based on observations made with Lister's innovative microscope, in particular on the "globule hypothesis" of the time which was held in particular by Henri Milne Edwards. They denied the existence of globules in tissue;
Ernst Heinrich Weber Ernst Heinrich Weber (24 June 1795 – 26 January 1878) was a German physician who is considered one of the founders of experimental psychology. He was an influential and important figure in the areas of physiology and psychology during his li ...
in 1830 contradicted them, and the debate continued for a decade. For a while microscopy suffered in its reputation, but by 1840
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures v ...
was a recognised discipline, and in time the view of Hodgkin and Lister that "globules" were optical artefacts became accepted. The 1827 paper they published has been called "the foundation of modern histology". Hodgkin described the disease that bears his name (
Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The conditio ...
) in 1832, in a paper titled ''On Some Morbid Appearances of the Absorbent Glands and Spleen''. He received 33 years later the
eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
through the recognition of British physician
Samuel Wilks Sir Samuel Wilks, 1st Baronet, (2 June 1824 – 8 November 1911) was a British physician and biographer. Early life Samuel Wilks was born on 2 June 1824 in Camberwell, London, the second son of Joseph Barber Wilks, a cashier at the East India H ...
, who rediscovered the disease. It is a malignancy that produces enlargement of lymphoid tissue,
spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .
, and
liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it i ...
, with invasion of other tissues. A more benign form is called Hodgkin's paragranuloma, while a more invasive form is called Hodgkin's sarcoma. Hodgkin published as a book his ''Lectures on Morbid Anatomy'' in 1836 and 1840. His major contribution to the teaching of pathology, however, was made in 1829, with his two volumed work entitled ''The Morbid Anatomy of Serous and Mucous Membranes'', which became a classic in modern pathology. Hodgkin was one of the earliest defenders of preventive medicine, having published ''On the Means of Promoting and Preserving Health'' in book form in 1841. Among other early observations were the first description of acute
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...
, of the biconcave format of
red blood cells Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "hol ...
and the striation of
muscle Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of mus ...
fibers. Hodgkin also translated with Thomas Fisher, from the French of William-Frédéric Edwards, ''On the Influence of Physical Agents on Life'' (London, 1832; Philadelphia 1838). Edwards was a
vitalist Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...
in physiology, who studied the effect of physical forces on processes in living organisms. The work as it appeared in English was much more than a translation, since it contained an appendix of over 200 pages containing two dozen papers, a compendium of medicine and science tangentially related to themes in Edwards, but related to his general approach. It included early work by Hodgkin and collaboration with Lister, as well as something on electricity and meteorology. He also published ''The Means of Promoting and Preserving Health'' (London, 1840), of which a second edition appeared in 1841, and an ''Address on Medical Reform'' (1847).


Other works

Other works by Hodgkin were ''Biographical Sketches'': of James Cowles Prichard (1849); and of William Stroud (1789–1858), a medical collaborator. He also wrote abolitionist pamphlets and on the British African Colonization Societies (1833–1834).


Legacy

There is a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...
on his house in Bedford Square, London.
The Friends' School, Hobart The Friends' School, Hobart is an independent co-educational Quaker day and boarding school located in North Hobart, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Quakers, the school currently caters for approximately 1330 studen ...
named one of the four school houses after him. The
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
School of Medicine's Hodgkin Building is named in honour of Hodgkin."King's College London – Thomas Hodgkin"
''
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
'', Retrieved on 16 May 2014.


References

*


Further reading

* Kass, Amalie M. and Kass, Edward H. (1988) ''Perfecting the World: The life and times of Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, 1798–1866'', Boston: Harcourt Brace Jovanovic.


External links

*
WhoNamedIt – Thomas Hodgkin

History and Timeline of Hodgkin's Disease
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgkin, Thomas 1798 births 1866 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Deaths from dysentery English abolitionists English pathologists English Quakers Hematology
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
Hodgkin lymphoma People from Islington (district) Physicians of Guy's Hospital Quaker abolitionists Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge