Andrew Combe
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Andrew Combe (27 October 17979 August 1847) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
physician and
phrenologist Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or ...
.


Life

Combe was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on 27 October 1797, the son of Marion (née Newton) and George Combe (1745–1816), a brewer, and was a younger brother of
George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish people, Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenology, phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote ''The Constitu ...
. After some years at the Royal High School, he became a surgeon's pupil in 1812, residing during most of the time with his elder brother George Combe, and obtaining his diploma at Surgeons' Hall on 2 February 1817. In October 1817, he went to Paris to complete his medical studies, specialising in anatomy and investigating cerebral morphology under Spurzheim's supervision in 1818–19. After a visit to Switzerland, he returned to Edinburgh in 1819, intending to start a practice there. However, illness compelled him to spend the next two winters in the south of France and Italy. In 1823, he began to practise in Edinburgh. He had already made contributions to the newly established
Edinburgh Phrenological Society The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was founded in 1820 by George Combe, an Edinburgh lawyer, with his physician brother Andrew Combe. The Edinburgh Society was the first and foremost phrenology grouping in Great Britain; more than forty ph ...
. The first to be published was ''On the Effects of Injuries of the Brain upon the Manifestations of the Mind'', read on 9 January 1823. In the same year he also answered Dr Barclay's attack on phrenology in his ''Life and Organisation''. Combe's essay was so clearly written that a subsequent opponent of phrenology alluded to its "satanic logic". In 1823, Combe joined his brother and others in establishing the ''Phrenological Journal'', following a debate at 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 which he felt he had scored a major victory over the opponents of phrenology, but of which the Society declined to publish any account. This memorable discussion, inspired by one of Andrew Combe's essays, took place at 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 ...
on 21 and 25 November 1823, and lasted till nearly four in the morning. The essay was published in the ''Phrenological Journal'' (vol 1, p. 337); but records of the discussion were suppressed by means of an injunction obtained by the Medical Society from the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
. In 1825, Combe graduated with an MD at Edinburgh. His practice grew quickly because of Combe's personal qualities – his ability to listen, and his exceptional professional courtesy. In 1827, he was elected President of the
Edinburgh Phrenological Society The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was founded in 1820 by George Combe, an Edinburgh lawyer, with his physician brother Andrew Combe. The Edinburgh Society was the first and foremost phrenology grouping in Great Britain; more than forty ph ...
. Combe had been consulted in many cases of insanity and nervous disease, and on 6 February 1830 wrote an article in ''The Scotsman'' commenting unfavourably on the verdict of the jury in the Davies case in 1829. The doctors who had declared Davies insane were proved by the event to be quite right. Encouraged by this success, in 1831, Combe published his ''Observations on Mental Derangement,'' which was very successful. Ill health forced Combe to spend the winter of 1831–2 abroad, but he recovered sufficiently to begin writing his work on ''The Principles of Physiology applied to the Preservation of Health, and to the improvement of physical and mental education.'' This was published in 1834 and was a bestseller. In the early 1830s Combe's address is listed as 25 Northumberland Street in the fashionable
New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
of Edinburgh. His brother
George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish people, Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenology, phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote ''The Constitu ...
is listed as living at the same address. The house was purchased from
John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...
(
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
's biographer and son-in-law) in 1825. In 1834, Combe applied for the post of superintendent of the Montrose asylum – the first publicly funded post in mental hospital practice in Scotland – but, on receiving a request for a reference from William A. F. Browne – Combe withdrew his application and warmly endorsed his former student. Browne was successful in his application, and was celebrated at Montrose as an outstanding superintendent. However, in his influential lectures on asylum management, delivered in the Autumn of 1836, Browne did not mention phrenological thinking, and Combe had to await a delayed expression of gratitude in the dedication of Browne's lectures – ''What Asylums Were, Are, and Ought to Be'' – which were published to international acclaim in 1837. Combe's health permitted him to resume practice to only a limited extent in 1833–5. Early in 1836 he received the appointment of physician to King
Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Rus ...
(with Dr James Clark's recommendation) and moved to
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; but his health again failed, and he returned to Edinburgh in the same year. He soon completed and published his ''Physiology of Digestion'' (1836), which reached a ninth edition in 1849. A considerable practice now absorbed his energies, and in 1838 he was appointed a physician to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. In 1840, he published his last, and he considered his best book, ''The Physiological and Moral Management of Infancy.'' The sixth edition appeared in 1847. During his later years,
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
made serious advances. Two winters in
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and a voyage to the
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failed to improve things, and he died while on a visit to a nephew at
Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located to the west of the city centre, and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry, Edinburgh, Dalry. Name The name is thought to be British language (Celtic), Brythonic in ...
Mills, on the south-west side of Edinburgh, on 9 August 1847. Combe never married. He is buried with his grandfather, George Washington, brewer (d. 1816) in St Cuthberts Churchyard. The grave is located on the south side of the "Bairn's Knowe" behind the older stones, and backing onto the former church halls. His biography, written by his brother, was published in 1850.


Criticism of vegetarianism

Combe criticised
vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
and the dieting ideas of
William Alcott William Andrus Alcott (August 6, 1798 – March 29, 1859), also known as William Alexander Alcott, was an American educator, educational reformer, physician, vegetarian and author of many books. His works, which include a wide range of topics i ...
and
Sylvester Graham Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer. He was known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. His preaching inspired th ...
. In his book ''The Physiology of Digestion'' he commented that "the arguments of Mr Graham and Dr Alcott in favour of exclusive vegetable diet, are not based on sound physiological principles, and the broad assertions which they make of the superior strength of vegetable-eating savages in comparison with civilised Europeans, rest on insufficient evidence, and are not supported by the experience of trustworthy observers." Combe denied that
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
was a strict vegetarian and noted that "he did not usually confine himself to a vegetable diet."Lawrence, Christopher; Shapin, Steven. (1998). ''Science Incarnate: Historical Embodiments of Natural Knowledge''. University of Chicago Press. p. 41.


Selected publications


''The Principles of Physiology Applied to the Preservation of Health …''
(1839)
''The Universal Guide to Health''
(1849)
''The Physiology of Digestion, Considered with Relation to the Principles of Dietetics''
(with James Coxe, 1860)


See also

*
Phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Combe, Andrew 1797 births 1847 deaths British academic journal editors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Dietitians Mental health professionals People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Medical doctors from Edinburgh Phrenologists Scottish anatomists Scottish medical writers Scottish physiologists University of Paris alumni British expatriates in France