Charles Foster Barham, M.D. (9 March 1804 – 20 October 1884) was an English physician and the fourth son of Thomas Foster Barham.

Early life and education

Barham was born in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

. His family's wealth came from slavery and sugar estates in western

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. He was privately educated at several places in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and at

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. Th ...

, proceeding from the latter town to

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, where he matriculated in October 1821. Within a few months he had migrated to Queens' College, where he became a foundation scholar in May 1823. The bent of his family was for medicine, and after studying at

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, as well as at Paris and in Italy, Barham took the degree of M.B. at Cambridge in 1827, qualifying for the higher degree of M.D. in 1860. For a few years he practised at

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, but in August 1837 he settled at Truro, and remained there until his death.

Career

In the following year he was appointed senior physician to the Royal Cornwall Infirmary, and when he resigned that post in 1873 was elected consulting physician. On his settlement at Truro Dr. Barham threw himself with energy into its political and civic life, and on 28 Sep 1839 became more closely identified with the town by his marriage to Caroline, the second daughter of Clement Carlyon, M.D., who belonged to an old Truro family. In all the proceedings of the

Royal Institution of Cornwall The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) is a Learned society in Truro, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was founded in Truro on 5 February 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest ...

Dr. Barham took an active part, and to its ''Reports'' and ''Journal'' he contributed many articles. From 1837 until 1859 he was its secretary, at which date he became its president.Justin Brooke, 'Barham, Charles Foster (1804–1884)',

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, 200
accessed 4 Feb 2008
/ref> In 1856 he became a magistrate for Truro and in 1858 mayor. He served as consultant physician to the Truro Friendly Society, was also the president of the south-western 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 a time. He died at Truro on 20 October 1884, leaving a large family behind him. He was buried at

Kenwyn Kenwyn () is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and lies 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre, within Truro parish, whereas Kenwyn parish covers an are ...

. His brother Francis Foster Barham was a religious writer. Though Dr. Barham was interested in antiquarian and geological pursuits generally, the two subjects which had especial charm for him were the climate of Cornwall and the diseases of the miners who contributed to its wealth. The names of many papers written by him on these topics are enumerated in the ''Bibliotheca Cornubiensis'', (vols. i. and iii). His services were engaged in 1842 by a commission on the employment of children, and his report, with the evidence which he collected, was printed in the first and second reports of the commission. He also wrote a ''Report on the Sanitary State of the Labouring Classes in the Town of Truro'' published in 1840.

Selected publications

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Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barham, Charles Foster 1804 births 1884 deaths People from Truro Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 19th-century English medical doctors