Francis Bisset Hawkins (18 October 1796 – 7 December 1894) was an English physician. He was born the son of Adair Hawkins, a London surgeon and educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, gaining BA in 1818, MA in 1821, MB in 1822 and MD in 1825. His brother was William Bentinck Hawkins, FRS. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

in 1826 and was their

Gulstonian lecturer The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest. By his ...

in 1828, Censor (i.e. examiner) in 1830 and Lumleian lecturer in 1835. From 1828 to 1832 he was physician at the Westminster Dispensary and in 1833 a Factory Commissioner enquiring into the conditions of child employment in factories. He was appointed the first Professor of

Materia Medica ''Materia medica'' ( lit.: 'medical material/substance') is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medications). The term derives f ...

(in modern terms

Pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

) at

King’s College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in 1829, resigning the chair in 1835, and 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 ...

in 1834. He was appointed an inspector of prisons in 1836 and as a metropolitan commissioner in lunacy in 1842, a position he held until 1845. In 1847-48 he was commissioner for the government of

Pentonville prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

. In his Report on the Health and Condition of the Manufacturing Districts, he recommended a reduction in the hours of work for children and women and the creation of public gardens and parks in Manchester, both of which took place. In his Reports on Prisons he successfully recommended a reduction in the use of solitary confinement. He was also largely responsible for the insertion of an extra column to record the names of the disease or cause of death on the new death register introduced in 1837 by the Act for the Registration of Births and Deaths. Towards the latter part of his career he moved from London to Bournemouth and in 1858 was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset. He died a widower at the age of 98, having no children. The Bisset Hawkins Medal, established in 1896 by the

to acknowledge work done in promoting public health, was named to honour his memory.

Published works

Source: * ''The Elements of Medical Statistics''. 8vo. London, 1829. * ''The History of the Epidemic Spasmodic Cholera of Russia''. 8vo. London, 1831. * ''Germany; the Spirit of her History, Literature, National Economy, and Social Condition''. 8vo. London, 1838. * ''Reports on the Factory Commission''. London, 1833. * ''Reports on the Prisons of the Southern and Western Districts of England from 1836 to 1842''. Folio. London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Francis Bisset 1796 births 1894 deaths Medical doctors from London People educated at Eton College Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford 19th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society Deputy lieutenants of Dorset