Edward Liveing (8 February 1832 – 2 April 1919) was an English physician who published a theory of migraine pathogenesis in his book ''On Megrim''.

Biography

Edward Liveing was born in

Nayland Nayland is a village and former civil parish in the Stour Valley on the Suffolk side of the border between Suffolk and Essex in England. In 2011 the built-up area had a population of 938. In 1881 the civil parish had a population of 901. His ...

, Suffolk on 8 February 1832, the second son of Dr. Edward Liveing, who was the father of four sons and seven daughters with his wife Catherine Mary Liveing née Downing. The eldest son was the chemist George Downing Liveing, and the 3rd son was the dermatologist Robert Liveing. Edward Liveing (the younger) studied medicine and natural philosophy at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King' ...

, including medical work at

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by ...

that made him M.R.C.S. in 1854. He then matriculated at

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1854. On 29 August 1854 he married Frances Jane (Tassie) Torlesse. At Cambridge he graduated B.A. in 1858 and M.B. in 1859, before returning to London as assistant physician at King's College Hospital. There he was made

M.R.C.P. Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP(UK)) is a postgraduate medical diploma in the United Kingdom (UK). The examinations are run by the Federation of the Medical Royal Colleges – the Royal College of Phys ...

in 1859 and he collected clinical material on migraine. From Cambridge, he received his M.D. in 1870 (after sending his M.D. thesis on migraine to Cambridge in 1868). At Cambridge he acted as an examiner in medicine from 1870 to 1871. Liveing's famous book ''On Megrim'' was published in 1873. He was elected a fellow of Caius College in 1874. At King's College Hospital, he was made F.R.C.P. in 1874. In addition to his work as an assistant physician at King's College Hospital, Liveing served for 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 ...

as Assistant Registrar in 1886–1889 and then as Registrar in 1889–1909. He was a consulting physician at St Marylebone general dispensary. Liveing had a medical practice at 52

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the mu ...

from 1870 to 1919. Liveing's first wife died in 1885; their marriage produced three sons and two daughters. Liveing married again but his second marriage was childless. Edward Liveing died on 2 April 1919. British neurologist

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...

attributes reading a book by him to his career choice and as an inspiration to write his first book ''

Migraine Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few ho ...

''. (First published in ''Good Weekend'' on October 20, 2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liveing, Edward 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors 1832 births 1919 deaths Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge People from Nayland