Charles Clay (27 December 1801 – 18 September 1893) was an English surgeon, called the "Father of

Ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'', is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to ...

Life

Clay was born in

Bredbury Bredbury is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, east of Stockport and south-west of Hyde, Greater Manchester, Hyde. The Bredbury and Woodley, Greater Manchester, Woodley buil ...

, near

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, Cheshire, and died in

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,115. There is evidence of human habitatio ...

, near

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, Lancashire. He began his medical education as a pupil of

Kinder Wood Kinder is the German word for "children"; it may also refer to: Businesses * Kinder, a trademark of Ferrero, an Italian confectioner: **Kinder Surprise **Kinder Chocolate bars ** Kinder Happy Hippo **Kinder Bueno ** Kinder Joy *Kinder Morgan Ener ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

(where he used to attend

John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He introduced the atomic theory into chemistry. He also researched Color blindness, colour blindness; as a result, the umbrella term ...

's lectures on chemistry), and in 1821 went to

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 ...

to continue his studies there. Qualifying in 1823, he began a general practice in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

, where he also taught chemistry at the Mechanics Institute. At this point he was a pledged teetotaller and supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

. In 1839 he removed to Manchester to practise as an operative and consulting surgeon. It was there that, in 1842, he first performed the operation of

ovariotomy Oophorectomy (; from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' and , , 'a cutting out of'), historically also called ''ovariotomy'', is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to ...

with which his name is associated. On this occasion it was perfectly successful, and when in 1865 he published an analysis of the cases he was able to show a mortality only slightly above 30%. Clay was an opponent of vivisection.

Ovariotomy

Although his merits in this matter have sometimes been denied, his claim to the title ''Father of Ovariotomy'' is now generally conceded, and it is admitted that he deserves the credit not only of having shown how that operation could be made a success, but also of having played an important part in the advance of abdominal surgery for which the 19th century was conspicuous. A number of manuscripts previously owned by Clay are held by Special Collections at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and include a record of some of the ovariotomy (oophorectomy) operations he performed between 1855 and 1869.

Geology, archaeology, numismatics

In spite of the claims of a heavy practice, Clay found time for the pursuit of geology and archaeology. Among the books of which he was the author were a volume of ''Geological Sketches of Manchester'' (1839) and a ''History of the Currency of the Isle of Man'' (1849), and his collections included over a thousand editions of the Old and New Testaments and a remarkably complete series of the silver and copper coins of the United States.

References

Sources

*Brockbank, E. M. (1929) "The Hospitals of Manchester and Salford." In: ''Book of Manchester and Salford''. Manchester: Falkner & Co. Includes portrait of Dr Clay * *Dyson, Reverend Simeon "The Unfinished Biography of The Reverend Simeon Dyson" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, Charles 1801 births 1893 deaths English anti-vivisectionists English surgeons English temperance activists People from Bredbury People from Poulton-le-Fylde