Alfred Austin Lendon (died 29 June 1935) was an English medical doctor, of whom it was said few practitioners have exerted a wider influence on medical science in South Australia.

Life

Lendon was born in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and educated at

Maidstone Grammar School Maidstone Grammar School (MGS) is a grammar school in Maidstone, England. The school was founded in 1549 after Protector Somerset sold Corpus Christi Hall on behalf of King Edward VI to the people of Maidstone for £200. The Royal Charter fo ...

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he gained his MD. and MRCS. degrees, and arrived in South Australia in 1883. In 1884 he was, as a Government Medical Officer, sent to Bordertown to suppress an outbreak of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, and was a member of the Medical Board from 1899 to 1932 and its president from 1912. In 1885 he was elected to the board of the

Adelaide Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) is a hospital dedicated to the care of women and children in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established in March 1989, when the Queen Victoria Hospital and Adelaide Children's Hospital were amalgamate ...

, which at the time consisted only of the Way block, and was active in three major stages of expansion. He replaced Dr William Peel Nesbitt (died 1894) as honorary medical officer from 1885, served as consulting surgeon, and succeeded the founder Dr Allan Campbell as vice-president, and was senior vice-president when he died. He served as honorary physician to the Adelaide Hospital 1891–1894. He was president of the South Australian branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

for two separate terms. He was President of the

District Trained Nursing Society The Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) is a not-for-profit community health and care provider with headquarters in Keswick, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It has progressed through a series of iterations: :It was established in 1894 ...

from 1898, and saw it progress from a near-bankrupt organization to a vigorous, progressive and well-endowed institution. He also served for several years as national president of the

Australasian Trained Nurses' Association The Australasian Trained Nurses' Association was an association formed in 1899 to register nurses who had been trained in Australia. History Susan McGahey was a co-founder of the Australasian Trained Nurses' Association (ATNA) in December 1899 ...

. He was appointed patron of both organizations on his retirement. He had co-founded the ATNA's South Australia branch organisation with hospital owner Kate Hill and Dr

Thomas George Wilson Sir Thomas George Wilson (March 27, 1876 – March 15, 1958) was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. He was a founding fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and State N ...

in 1905. He was an occasional lecturer at the University of Adelaide and several collections of his lectures have been published.

Publications

*Lendon, A. A. ''Clinical Lectures on Hydatid Disease of the Lungs'' (1902) London, Bailliere, Tindall and Cox *Lendon, A. A. ''Nodal fever, febris nodosa : synonyms: erythema nodosum, erythema multiforme'' (1905) He also edited several books on hydatid disease by John Davies Thomas (1844–1893).

Other interests

He was founder and first president of the Numismatic Society of South Australia, president of the Commonwealth Club 1919–1922, and a longtime member of the

Royal Geographical Society of Australasia The Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, formerly the Geographical Society of Australasia, was an Australian organisation formed in 1883 until it split up into various state organisations in the 1920s. The South Australian and Queensland b ...

, SA branch.

Family

Lendon married Lucy Isabel Rymill (31 March 1865 – 22 April 1929), daughter of Henry Rymill on 26 August 1889. *Dr Guy Austin Lendon (1895–1970) *Dr Alan Harding Lendon (1903– ) *Dorothy Isabel Lendon (1890– ) They had a home on Brougham place, North Adelaide He died after a long illness, and was privately cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lendon, Alfred Austin 1870s births 1935 deaths 20th-century Australian medical doctors

Life

Publications

Other interests

Family

Archives

References