Cuthbert Hilton Golding-Bird (1848–1939) was an English surgeon at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science cent ...

, fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ar ...

, and lecturer to medical students. He was skilled in

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vi ...

, invented a

dilator Dilator or dilatator is a medical term with a number of uses, including: *A surgical instrument or medical implement used to induce dilation, that is, to expand an opening or passage such as the cervix (see cervical dilator), urethra, esophagus ...

for use in tracheotomies, and pioneered a new gastroenterological surgical procedure. Outside of medicine, Golding-Bird was known as a collector of clocks and publisher of books on local archaeology.

Early life, education, and family

Golding-Bird was born in

Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...

, London on 7 July 1848. He was the fourth child of

Golding Bird Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urolithiasis, urinary d ...

, a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

and pioneer of

electrotherapy Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment. In medicine, the term ''electrotherapy'' can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disea ...

. Golding-Bird's mother, Mary, instituted the Golding Bird Gold Medal and Scholarship for sanitary science (later renamed for bacteriology). He attended

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

1856–1862 and then King's College London. He obtained a BA at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

in 1867. In 1870, Golding-Bird married Florence Marion, daughter of another surgeon, John Baber. Florence died in 1919. The couple had no children. Golding-Bird died of

angina Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstruc ...

with

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

on 6 March 1939 at Pitfield, near

Meopham Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it has a population of 6,427 increas ...

, Kent.

Career

Golding-Bird started at

Guy's Hospital Medical School GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (London Borough of Southwark, Southwark), King's College Hospital (London Borough of ...

in 1868. He won multiple prizes as a student. After qualifying, he went on a post-graduate course in Paris. Back at Guy's, he was initially a demonstratorA ''demonstrator'' is an academic rank used in some educational institutions. The status of a demonstrator is a step down from ''lecturer'' and is equivalent to ''assistant lecturer''. of anatomy. In 1875 he was appointed assistant surgeon and demonstrator of physiology under

Philip Pye-Smith Philip Henry Pye-Smith FRS FRCP (30 August 1839 – 23 May 1914) was an English physician, medical scientist and educator. His interest was physiology, specialising in skin diseases. Life Philip Pye-Smith was born in 1839 at Billiter Square, L ...

, who he succeeded in 1883. He remained at Guy's until his retirement in 1908. He retired to Meopham, but continued to serve Guy's as consulting surgeon. In retirement, he was also surgeon to the Gravesend Hospital and the Royal Deaf and Dumb School,The Royal Deaf and Dumb School in latter years was known as the Royal School for Deaf Children (History of Place). See also .

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significant m ...

. Golding-Bird was a fellow of the

from 1874. He served them as examiner in various capacities from 1884 to 1913. He was a member of the

Physiological Society The Physiological Society, founded in 1876, is a learned society for physiologists in the United Kingdom. History The Physiological Society was founded in 1876 as a dining society "for mutual benefit and protection" by a group of 19 physiologis ...

from 1880.

Surgery

Golding-Bird was known for his skill in microanatomy (

). He worked by hand with an ordinary razor, as was then the custom. Drawings of his sections of the retina appeared in Quain's ''Anatomy''. Golding-Bird invented a dilator for use in tracheotomies. The

was an alternative to the previous practice of holding the incision open with stitches of silk thread. Another innovative procedure of which Golding-Bird was one of the pioneers was the treatment of

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood ( hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, an ...

by making an incision in the

appendix Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (pub ...

through which the

large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being r ...

could be flushed. Golding-Bird was young looking, which sometimes caused patients to doubt his experience. One woman, who needed a leg amputation, requested that an older-looking, but unknown to her, more junior surgeon should do the work.

Awards

* Gold medal in

forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...

at the MB examination 1873

Recreation

Golding-Bird was a collector of clocks, of which he had a great many at Meopham. He enjoyed disassembling and reassembling them. He was interested in local archaeology and wrote two books on the history of Meopham, the village where he retired, one of which is still in print. He also wrote a history of the

United Hospitals United Hospitals is the historical collective name of the medical schools of London. They are all part of the University of London (UL) with the exception of Imperial College School of Medicine which left in 2007. The original United Hospitals ref ...

Club. He was also a good photographer and keen gardener.

Selected publications

"Mechanical treatment of croupous membrane after tracheotomy—trachea dilator"
''The Retrospect of Medicine'', vol. 85, pp. 187–190, 1882.
''An Account of the United Hospitals' Club form its Foundation, Feb, 14th, 1828, to its Diamond Jubilee, Feb. 13th, 1903''
Ash, 1904, . * ''The Story of Old Meopham'', London: Williams & Norgate, 1934 (first published 1918). * ''History of Meopham'', Fonthill Media, 2012 (first published 1934).

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Bramer, Dawn
"Meopham residents of renown"
Meopham Parish Council, accessed an
archived
2 December 2018. * Clegg, W. T.
Tracheotomy in an infant four days old"
''British Medical Journal'', vol. 1, pp. 68–69, January 1892. * O'Connor, W. J., ''Founders of British Physiology'', Manchester University Press, 1988 . * Treves, Frederick
''A Manual of Surgery''
vol. 2, New York: Cassell, 1886.
"Bird, Golding (1814–1854) and Bird, Cuthbert Hilton Golding- (1848–1939)"
AIM25, accessed an
archived
2 December 2018.
"Obituary: C. H. Golding-Bird, MB, FRCS"
''British Medical Journal'', vol. 1, no. 4080, pp. 590–591, 18 March 1939.
"The Royal School for Deaf Children"
History of Place, accessed an
archived
2 December 2018.

''

Plarr's Lives of the Fellows ''Plarr's Lives of the Fellows'' is a biographical register of the fellows 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 promo ...

Online'', Royal College of Surgeons, 7 March 2008, accessed an
archived
26 April 2018. * "Mr. C. H. Golding-Bird: late consulting surgeon to Guy's Hospital", ''The Times'', p. 16, 7 March 1939. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golding-Bird, Cuthbert Hilton 1848 births 1939 deaths 19th-century surgeons 20th-century surgeons English surgeons Alumni of King's College London Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons People from Pentonville People from Meopham