Charles Hamilton Fasson (1821–1891) was a senior British surgeon and medical reformer.

Life

He was born on 5 December 1821 at

Vincent Square Vincent Square is a grass-covered square in Westminster, London, England. It is London's largest privately-owned square, covering 13 acres, lined with mature trees including London Planes. In among a network of backstreets, it chiefly provides ...

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 ...

the son of John Fasson and his wife, Frances Blogg. He studied Medicine and joined the British Army as a surgeon around 1843, mainly serving in India. He served as Surgeon General to the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

during the time of the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

of 1857, being attached to the Light Dragoons. He appears to have been highly involved in the administration of hospitals in India. In 1870, Edinburgh decided a new hospital should be built and in 1871 Fasson was appointed Superintendent in overall charge of the Old Edinburgh Infirmary on Drummond Street, also being appointed Deputy Surgeon General of all Scotland. The city also appointed him in charge of organising a new hospital. Campaigning with the Lord Provost and Council for a new infirmary he successfully got them to agree the new

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

on Lauriston Place, built to new principles on ventilation and sanitation. This was opened in 1879 with Fasson as its first Superintendent. In 1873, he was elected a member of the

Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...

. He had an apoplectic seizure around 1 October and seemed to be recovering but died at 2 Meadow Walk on the

Meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable condition ...

close to

, from a second seizure on 15 October 1892. He is buried to the south in

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

, the grave lies in the eastmost section close to the main entrance.

Family

He married twice, firstly in India around 1848 to Catherine Mary Young (1827-1864) born in West Bengal in India, died in

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. They had eight children. He was secondly married to Margaret Sarah Robertson (d.1882) with whom he had two sons and one daughter: Robert Robertson Fasson RN; Francis Hamilton Fasson; and Cara Fasson. Through his son Francis Hamilton, he was paternal grandfather to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

hero,

Tony Fasson Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, (17 July 1913 – 30 October 1942), known as Tony Fasson, was a Royal Navy officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross "for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of dan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fasson, Charles Hamilton 1821 births 1892 deaths Health professionals from London 19th-century British surgeons Hospital administrators Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh