Charles Douglas Fergusson Phillips,

F.R.C.S. Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roy ...

(1830–1904) was a British medical doctor and author of a

materia medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

reference work, divided into two parts: organic (plant extracts, etc.) and inorganic substances (salts, acids,

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

s, etc.).

Life and career

Charles D. F. Phillips was born in 1830, the fifth son of Captain R. Phillips of the 40th Regiment, a veteran of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

. He studied medicine at Edinburgh and

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

, Aberdeen, where he graduated M.B. in 1852. He commenced practice in

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 ...

. He got his M.D. in 1859. It is believed that he first practiced as a homoeopath at Manchester, but he left the fold of

Samuel Hahnemann Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann ( , ; 10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843) was a German physician, best known for creating the pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine called homeopathy. Early life Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann w ...

and in 1867 moved to London, where for some years he earned a large professional income. In 1878 he was disabled by a railway accident, for which, after much litigation, he was awarded damages to the amount of £16,000, said to be the largest sum ever given for injuries received. It was proved that he had made nearly £21,000 the year before the accident, and that for several years previously his professional income had been from £15,000 to £20,000. It took him several years of revalidation, before he was able to resume practice in 1883.''Collected Papers on Pharmacology and Therapeutics'' (1908)
Introduction Dr. Phillips was for a considerable time Lecturer on Materia Medica and Therapeutics at the

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was one of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. It was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Wes ...

, and acted as examiner in the subject at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and

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 ...

. He was the author of several works on pharmacology and therapeutics, some of which achieved considerable popularity. In his later years Dr. Phillips, who was a member of the

Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is an international learned society for physiologists with headquarters in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit ...

, took a great interest in the exposure of the methods of the antivivisectionists. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and an honorary LL.D. of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He retired from active practice about a year before his death, and was appointed Chairman of the Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen Unionist Association, being invited to represent the joint Universities in Parliament, an honor which, however, he declined. He died in November 1904, just after publishing the third edition of his ''Materia Medica''.

Bibliography

The following works of Phillips were published: * ''Materia Medica and Therapeutics: Vegetable Kingdom'' (first edition: 1874; second and last edition: 1886) * ''Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics: Inorganic Substances'' (first edition: 1882; third and last edition: 1904) * ''The Physiological Action of Drugs: an Introduction to Practical Pharmacology'' (1901), co-authored with Dr. M. S. Pembery * ''The Therapeutics of the Iron Compounds'' (1904) * ''Collected Papers on Pharmacology and Therapeutics'' (published posthumously in 1908)

** ''Antiseptics'' ** ''Manganese and its Salts'' (on its

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

and therapeutic uses) ** ''Phosphorus and its Compounds'' (on its poisoning and therapeutics) ** ''Chronic Lead Poisoning'' (on

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...

) ** ''The Iodides'' (on 19th-century medical uses of

iodide An iodide ion is I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine deficiency ...

salts) ** ''The Pharmacology of the Mercury Compounds'' (on

mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

) ** ''The Therapeutics of Mercury'' ** ''The Action of the Lime Salts'' ** ''Barium Salts'' ** ''Oxygen, Ozone and Compressed Air'' ** ''The Pharmacology of Strychnine'' (properties, action, and

) ** ''The Therapeutics of Strychnine'' ** ''Berberine'' ** ''Thuja'' ** ''Curare''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Charles Douglas Fergusson 1904 deaths 1830 births 19th-century British medical doctors 19th-century British writers British medical writers Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England