Granville Sharp Pattison (1791–1851) was a Scottish anatomist. Professor of Anatomy at

London University 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 degr ...

, after losing two British positions, he emigrated permanently to the United States to be a professor at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

Life

The youngest son of John Pattison of

Kelvingrove, Glasgow Kelvingrove is a neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde in the West End of the city, and directly borders Kelvingrove Park to the north and the grounds of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum to ...

, he was admitted as a member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1813. He acted in 1818 as assistant to

Allan Burns Allan Pennington Burns (May 18, 1935January 30, 2021) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was best known for co-creating and writing for the television sitcoms ''The Munsters'' and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''. Early life ...

, the lecturer on anatomy, physiology, and surgery at the

Andersonian Institute The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

; but he only held the post for a year, and was succeeded by William Mackenzie. Pattison resigned after a divorce case, involving the wife of

Andrew Ure Andrew Ure FRS (18 May 1778 – 2 January 1857) was a Scottish physician, chemist, scriptural geologist, and early business theorist who founded the Garnet Hill Observatory. He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal So ...

, a colleague at the Institute. Pattison went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1818, and lectured privately on anatomy. There he quarrelled with

Nathaniel Chapman Nathaniel Chapman (28 May 1780 – 1 July 1853) was an American physician. He was the founding president of the American Medical Association in 1847. Chapman founded the ''American Journal of the Medical Sciences'' in 1820 and served as its edito ...

. In 1820 he was appointed to the chair of anatomy, physiology, and surgery in the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, a post he filled for five years and resigned, on grounds of ill-health. But he had been involved in another dispute, over the

Fascia of Colles The membranous layer of the superficial fascia of the perineum (Colles' fascia) is the deeper layer ( membranous layer) of the superficial perineal fascia. It is thin, aponeurotic in structure, and of considerable strength, serving to bind down th ...

and his own research; and had fought a duel with General

Thomas McCall Cadwalader Thomas McCall Cadwalader (September 11, 1795 – October 22, 1873) was an American who trained to be a lawyer but made his career in the military, retiring as a major general. Early life Thomas McCall Cadwalader was born on the family estate ca ...

, brother-in-law to Chapman, whom he wounded with a pistol shot. Pattison returned to England in July 1827. He was appointed professor of anatomy 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 ...

, acting at the same time as surgeon to the University Dispensary, which preceded the foundation of the North London Hospital. These posts he was compelled to relinquish in 1831, under pressure from a combination of student activists excited by the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830, and colleagues who questioned the standard of his teaching.

Adrian Desmond Adrian John Desmond (born 1947) is an English writer on the history of science and author of books about Charles Darwin. Life He studied physiology at London University and went on to study history of science and vertebrate palaeontology at Unive ...

, ''The Politics of Evolution: Morphology, medicine and reform in radical London'' (1989), pp. 94–9. In the same year Pattison became professor of anatomy in the

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the unive ...

, Philadelphia, where he received the degree of doctor of medicine. He was appointed professor of anatomy at

on the reorganisation of its medical department in 1840, a post he retained till his death on 12 November 1851. He left a widow, but no children.

Works

He was author of ''Experimental Observations on the Operation of Lithotomy'', Philadelphia, 1820; and of controversial works. In Baltimore he edited the second edition of Allan Burns's ''Observations on the Surgical Anatomy of the Head and Neck'', which was published in 1823. He edited in 1820 the ''American Recorder'', and the ''Register and Library of Medical and Chirurgical Science'', Washington, 1833–6; and was co-editor of the ''American Medical Library and Intelligencer'', Philadelphia, 1836. He translated

Joseph Nicolas Masse Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

's ''Anatomical Atlas'', and also

Jean Cruveilhier Jean Cruveilhier (; 9 February 1791 – 7 March 1874) was a French anatomist and pathologist. Academic career Cruveilhier was born in Limoges, France. As a student in Limoges, he planned to enter the priesthood. He later developed an i ...

's ''Anatomy of the Human Body''.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pattison, Granville Sharp 1791 births 1851 deaths Scottish anatomists Medical doctors from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to the United States University of Maryland, College Park faculty Academics of the University of London New York University faculty Thomas Jefferson University faculty Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge