Sir Anthony Colling Brownless, , (19 January 1817 – 3 December 1897) was an English-Australian physician and educationist, chancellor of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Biography

Brownless was the only son of Anthony Brownless, of Paynetts House, and Bockingfold Manor, near

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown a ...

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 ...

. After studying for the medical profession at

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Ra ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

, he was admitted M.R.C.S. of London in 1841, and M.D. of

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

in 1846. Brownless practised for some years as a physician in London. Brownless probably suffered from tuberculosis; it's almost certain the state of his health made him decide to come to Australia. He left

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

as medical officer aboard the ''Chaseley'' and arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in December 1852. Dr. Brownless arrived in Victoria in December 1852, and was soon afterwards elected Physician to the

Benevolent Asylum Benevolent asylums, also known as destitute asylums or infirmaries for the destitute, were institutions established throughout the colonies of Australia in the 19th century to house destitute men; deserted, vagrant or homeless women and their c ...

, and in 1854 Physician to the Melbourne Hospital—a post which he held for twelve years, being appointed a Life Governor and Consulting Physician on his retirement. In June 1855 the Melbourne University gave him the diploma of M.D., this being the first occasion on which the degree was conferred by that University, in which Dr. Brownless founded the medical school, and of which he was annually elected Vice-Chancellor for twenty-nine years, from 1858 to 1887; when he was elected Chancellor, in succession to Dr.

James Moorhouse James Moorhouse (19 November 1826 – 9 April 1915) was an Anglican Bishop of Melbourne and a Bishop of Manchester, and a Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. Early life and career Moorhouse was born in Sheffield, England, the only son ...

. Dr. Brownless held the honorary degree of LL.D. of the Universities of St. Andrews and Melbourne, and in 1884 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

of England. Dr. Brownless was made, a Knight of St. Gregory the Great by the Pope in 1870, and a Knight Commander of the

Order of Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX (), also referred as the Pian Order (, ), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. It is the highest honor currently conferred by the Holy See (two higher honors, the Supreme Order of C ...

, conferring nobility, by Leo. XIII. in 1883. Dr. Brownless, who was created C.M.G. in May 1888, has been twice married: first, in 1842, to Ellen, daughter of the late William Hawker, M.D., of Charing, Kent, and Liège, Belgium, formerly surgeon in the Grenadier Guards, who died in 1846; and secondly, in 1852, to Anne Jane, eldest daughter of the late Captain William Hamilton, of Eden,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Ireland, an officer in the Rifle Brigade, who served with distinction in the Peninsular War. Brownless died in Melbourne on 3 December 1897 at the university and was buried in the

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brownless, Anthony Colling 1817 births 1897 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Vice-chancellors of the University of Melbourne Chancellors of the University of Melbourne Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery