Charles Stewart (18 May 1840 – 27 September 1907) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

comparative anatomist Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 4 June 1896, and he was the president of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

from 1890 to 1894.

Life

Stewart was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and studied 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 ...

, receiving his MRCS in 1862. He was Conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

from 1884 to 1900, in succession to

William Henry Flower Sir William Henry Flower (30 November 18311 July 1899) was an English surgeon, museum curator and comparative anatomist, who became a leading authority on mammals and especially on the primate brain. He supported Thomas Henry Huxley in an ...

. After practising for four years at Plymouth, he was appointed in 1866 curator of the museum at St. Thomas's Hospital, then situated in the Surrey Gardens. In 1871, shortly after the removal of the hospital to the Albert Embankment, he was appointed lecturer on comparative anatomy in the medical school, and in 1881 he became lecturer on physiology jointly with Dr. John Harley. He was also professor of biology and physiology at the Bedford College for Women from 1882 to 1886. He left St. Thomas's Hospital in 1884 on his appointment as conservator of the Hunterian museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in succession to Sir

. In 1886, he became Hunterian professor of comparative anatomy and physiology at the college, and gave an annual course of lectures until 1902. Stewart fully maintained at the college the Hunterian tradition. Abreast of the current knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and bacteriology, which together make up modern pathology, he was able to utilise to the best advantage the stores of specimens collected by John Hunter. His dissections enabled him to correlate many facts for the first time, and his results were set forth in his lectures. In 1885, he lectured on the structure and life history of the

hydrozoa Hydrozoa (hydrozoans; from Ancient Greek ('; "water") and ('; "animals")) is a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class (biology), class of individually very small, predatory animals, some solitary and some colonial, most of which inhabit saline wat ...

; in 1886 and 1887 on the organs of hearing; in 1889 and again in 1896 on the integumental system; in 1890 on phosphorescent organs and colour; in 1891 on secondary sexual characters; in 1895 on the endoskeleton; in 1897 on joints, and on the protection and nourishment of the young; in 1899 on the alternation of generations. He spoke without notes and drew admirably on the blackboard, illustrating his remarks from the stores of the museum. But unhappily the lectures were neither published nor reported, and only remain in the memories of his auditors or in their scanty notes. His valuable work survives alone in the catalogues of the Hunterian museum. In spite of ill-health Stewart was active outside the College of Surgeons. From 1894 to 1897, he was Fullerian professor of physiology at the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

, where on two occasions he delivered the ’Friday evening' discourse. In 1866, he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society, and served as its president (1890-4). He also took an active part in founding the

Anatomical Society The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science". The society ...

of Great Britain and Ireland, of which he was the original treasurer (1887-1892). He also served as secretary of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

from 1879 to 1883. He was deeply interested in the welfare of the

Marine Biological Association The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) is a learned society with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth since the Citadel Hil ...

, which was established at Plymouth, his native place. He was admitted F.R.S. in 1896, and in 1899 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Aberdeen. He died in London on 27 September 1907, and was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

Family

He married in 1867 Emily Browne, and left three sons and two daughters.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Charles 1840 births 1907 deaths 19th-century British zoologists English anatomists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society Fullerian Professors of Physiology Presidents of the Linnean Society of London Medical doctors from Plymouth, Devon 19th-century English medical doctors Burials at Highgate Cemetery