Ernest Abraham Hart (26 June 18357 January 1898) was an English medical

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He was the editor of '' The British Medical Journal''.

Biography

Hart was born in

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 a Jewish dentist. He was educated at the City of London school, and became a student at St George's hospital. In 1856, he became a member 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 ...

, making a specialty of diseases of the eye. He was appointed ophthalmic surgeon at St Mary's hospital at the age of 28, and occupied various other posts, introducing into ophthalmic practice some modifications since widely adopted. His name, too, is associated with a method of treating popliteal aneurism, which he was the first to use in Great Britain. His real life-work, however, was as a medical journalist, beginning with the '' Lancet'' in 1857. He was appointed editor of the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' on 11 August 1866. During this time, the ''British Medical Journals harsh criticism of

Isaac Baker Brown Isaac Baker Brown (1812 – 3 February 1873) was a prominent 19th-century English gynaecologist and obstetrical surgeon. He had a reputation as a specialist in the diseases of women and advocated certain surgical procedures, including clitor ...

lead to the complete destruction of Brown's career. As editor, Hart can be held accountable in part for this (as can the editor before him, William Orlando Markham). His campaigning editorials could be vicious. They were usually sententious and often self-congratulatory. On 22 November 1866 Hart was appointed as a poorlaw inspector as his colleague William Orlando Markham rejected the position. He took a leading part in the exposures which led to the inquiry into the state of London work-house infirmaries, and to the reform of the treatment of sick poor throughout England, and the Infant Life Protection Act of 1872, aimed at the evils of

baby farming Baby farming is the historical practice of accepting custody of an infant or child in exchange for payment in late-Victorian era, Victorian Britain and, less commonly, in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. If the infant was young, th ...

, was largely due to his efforts. The record of his public work covers nearly the whole field of sanitary legislation during the last thirty years of his life. He had a hand in the amendments of the Public Health and of the Medical Acts, always promoting the medical profession above others in the public health field; in the measures relating to notification of infectious disease, to vaccination, to the registration of plumbers; in the improvement of factory legislation; in the remedy of legitimate grievances of Army and Navy medical officers; in the removal of abuses and deficiencies in crowded barrack schools; in denouncing the sanitary shortcomings of the Indian government, particularly in regard to the prevention of

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 ...

. His work on behalf of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

is shown by the increase from 2,000 to 19,000 in the number of members, and the growth of the ''British Medical Journal'' from 20 to 64 pages, during his editorship. From 1872 to 1897 he was chairman of the Association's Parliamentary Bill Committee. Beginning his collections by contacting

Tadamasa Hayashi was a Japanese art dealer who introduced traditional Japanese art such as ukiyo-e to Europe. Tadamasa was born to the Nagasaki family of physicians. When he was still a child, he was adopted into the Hayashi family, an upper-class samurai famil ...

in 1882, Hart became a prominent collector of Japanese Art and later joined the Japan Society, frequently giving lectures on subjects such as

Lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before ...

. In 1891 he travelled to Japan with his second wife,

Alice Hart Alice Hart (born Alice Marion Rowland; 1848-1931) was a British philanthropist, artist, and businesswoman. Early life and education Hart was born Alice Marion Rowland to Alex William Rowland and his wife, Henrietta Maria Margeretta Ditges. He w ...

. Hart was also editor of ''The Sanitary Record'' for a period, and chairman of the National Health Society.

Vaccination

In 1880, Hart authored the book ''The Truth About Vaccination''. It refuted the arguments made by anti-vaccinators. Each anti-vaccination allegation was disproved with medical and statistical evidence. Hart demonstrated from a vast body of evidence the advantages of how a vaccinated person can resist an attack of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, compared to those un-vaccinated.Anonymous. (1880)
''Notes On Books''
'' The British Medical Journal'' 1 (1004): 484.

Selected publications

* An account of the condition of the infirmaries of London workhouses, 1866
''The Truth About Vaccination: An Examination and Refutation of the Assertions of the Anti-Vaccinators''
(1880)
''Hypnotism, Mesmerism and the New Witchcraft''
(1896)

Family

Hart married his first wife, Rosetta Levy, in 1855. He married his second wife, in 1872, Alice Marion Rowland, the sister of social reformer Henrietta Barnett. Rowland had herself studied medicine in London and Paris, and was no less interested than her husband in philanthropic reform. She was most active in her encouragement of Irish cottage industries, and was the founder of the Donegal Industrial Fund.

References

External links