Charles Thomas Pearce (1815–1883) M.D., M.R.C.S., F.R.S., was an English physician and early opponent of

mandatory vaccination A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or sc ...

. A

member of the Royal College of Surgeons Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) is a postgraduate diploma for surgeons in the UK and Ireland. Obtaining this qualification allows a doctor to become a member of one of the four surgical colleges in the UK and Ireland, namely ...

, fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, Charles was a homoeopath and surgeon, with an interest in

medical astrology Medical astrology or astrological medicine (traditionally known as iatromathematics) is an ancient applied branch of astrology based mostly on ''melothesia'' (Gr. μελοθεσία), the association of various parts of the body, diseases, and ...

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, improved care for the mentally ill and the cessation of

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal test ...

Biography

Born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London, he was the son of court tailor Richard David Pearce (1780–1820) and Sarah 'Sally' Bouchet (1777–1855). His mother was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

descent, her father and brother being noted

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

brassfounders. Charles married a woman ten years his senior named Elizabeth Eagles at St. George's, Hanover Square, the daughter of a Pimlico carpenter and sister of

James Eagles James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Jame ...

, Shoreditch organ builder, who restored the great instrument in

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

, in addition to furnishing a number of new churches in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and Australia. Together, Charles and Elizabeth had four children. Charles was a Philosophical Instrument maker in 1840, the year his second son Alfred John Pearce (1840–1923) was born. Alfred would become a celebrated medical astrologer and popular

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

ist, ″the immortal Zadkiel″,″the world-famed Prophet″, who worked in collaboration with his father as his assistant in the early 1870s.Patrick Curry, "Pearce, Alfred James (1840–1923)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 17 Aug 2007
/ref> Alfred would become an initiate of the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, ...

. Charles Thomas Pearce lived for some time at St. Dunstan's Villa,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, the home of his sponsor, Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan (1800–1879), Tory politician, Fellow of the Royal Society, a geologist and a metaphysician. Charles was "for some years engaged with him in scientific experiments and researches on light, heat, and magnetism." Notes taken by Charles whilst thus "engaged with Sir R. Vyvyan ... in researches on the magnetism of the Moon's rays," were later recorded in a volume entitled "The Weather Guide Book", published by Charles's son, Alfred John Pearce, in 1864. In 1849, as a medical student, Charles patented an "Apparatus for obtaining light by electric agency," a system published in various journals, including the "Repository of Arts" (vol.14, page 193) and the "Mechanics' Magazine" (vo.51, page 189), as well as being registered at the Enrolment Office. It was also in 1849 that he was acquitted of a charge of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

brought by the reformer

Thomas Wakley Thomas Wakley (11 July 179516 May 1862) was an English surgeon. He gained fame as a social reformer who campaigned against incompetence, privilege and nepotism. He was the founding editor of ''The Lancet'', a radical Member of Parliament (MP) ...

, (an appointed

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

) after his brother David Richard Pearce's death from

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

. The prosecution dropped the case during trial after a judge concluded the death was unrelated to Pearce's attempt, authorised by another physician, to treat it by homoeopathy.Central Criminal Court, 27 Oct.., ''The Times'', 29 October 1849 The homoeopathic community raised two hundred pounds for Pearce's defence, and Pearce's barristers argued that the "indictment was merely an attack on the homeopathic system". Charles published his arguments against

smallpox vaccination The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with th ...

in several books including ''Essay on Vaccination'' (1868), and campaigned vigorously for the better treatment of the mentally ill. His own wife, Elizabeth Eagles (1805–79), died with "religious mania" in the Peckham House Lunatic Asylum. In 1868, Charles patented "an invention of improvements in the means of disinfecting or deodorizing rooms, buildings, and ships, applicable also in other purposes." His principal purpose was to find a way to preserve meat and thereby bring to an end the cruel transport of livestock on long ship journeys. This same year, he was elected a fellow of the

. From 1872–76, he ran a Hydropathic & Homeopathic Clinic at 'Woodstock House', 19, Nottingham Place, York Gate,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, in London, until it was closed by a well-publicised scandal involving a fraudulent patient, named Frank Hans Hamilton, and Charles's matron – whom, it was intimated in court, had borne his child. In 1878, he founded the Hydropathic Establishment & Sanatorium at Durleston Park, on the cliffs above

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

, Dorset, with his much younger mistress, Annie Kay, who went by the pseudonym of 'Mrs. Agnes Ann Parker'. Charles Thomas Pearce died on 9 May 1883, at a villa called 'Lessie', in Avenue Road,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

, on the Devonshire coast. He is the maternal 3-great grandfather of British author and charity-founder David Charles Manners.

Publications

* 1853, ''Diarrhœa and Cholera: their homœopathic treatment and prevention briefly described'', Northampton. * 1858, "The Medical Practitioners Bill: a brief analysis of its oppressive and unconstitutional clauses, addressed to the Earl of Derby", J. Taylor & Son * 1868, ''Essay on Vaccination: its source, nature and effects'' * 1868, "Vaccination: its tested effects on Health, Mortality, and Population", Balliere * 1869, "A Refutation of Dr. Lankester’s "Facts and Reasons in Favor of Vaccination and the Vaccination Laws": Dedicated to the Vestrymen, Guardians, and Parishioners of St. James's, Westminster – Printed for parish distribution, and may be had of the author" * 1869, "Vaccination, its source, nature and effects: an address delivered at the St. Marylebone Vestry Hall, London, by Charles Thomas Pearce, M.D.", H. Bailliere * undated, "Homœopathic & Allopathic Medical Institutions: their efficiency, statistics, & cost contrasted" * 1881, ''Small-pox & vaccination in London, 1880–81'', London: E.W. Allen * 1882, ''Vital Statistics: Small Pox Vaccination in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Continental Countries and Cities'', London: Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Charles T. 1815 births 1883 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors 19th-century English male writers Activists from London British homeopaths British anti-vaccination activists English anti-vivisectionists English medical writers English vegetarianism activists

Biography

Publications

See also

References