Gustavus Charles Philip Murray (1831 – 7 August 1887) was a British

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

who may have been the inspiration for

Luke Fildes Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (3 October 1843 – 28 February 1927) was a British painter and illustrator born in Liverpool and trained at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington and Royal Academy Schools. He was the grandson of the political act ...

' 1891 painting ''

The Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

''. His work in the examination of pregnant women was recognised by

Adolphe Pinard Adolphe Pinard (4 February 1844 – 1 March 1934) was a French obstetrician who was a native of Méry-sur-Seine. He practiced medicine in Paris, where he was an assistant to Étienne Stéphane Tarnier (1828–1897) and a professor of obstetrics, ...

in 1889 but ignored in England. He was popular with his patients and had a thriving practice with many professional appointments but as a result wrote little. He died at the age of 56 years from heart failure.

Early life and family

Gustavus (sometimes Gustavo) Murray was born at

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, West Indies, in 1831, the youngest son of Edward Murray (c.1800–1874), registrar of slaves and later Marshal of Trinidad."Obituary. Gustavus Charles Philip Murray, M.D."
''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

'', 20 August 1887, p. 394. Murray received his schooling mainly at private schools in England. His health was poor and he was twice forced to return to Trinidad for that reason. He married Fanny Tryphena Yearsley (born Trinidad) at St George's, Hanover Square, in 1856, daughter of John Yearsley of The Moors, Cheltenham. They had six sons and one daughter. In 1861 he was living in Green Street, Mayfair, in central London.Gustavo C P Murray England and Wales Census, 1861.
Family Search. Retrieved 12 December 2017. In 1871 the family were in the same area but had no servants according to the census return.Gustavus C P Murray England and Wales Census, 1871.
Family Search. Retrieved 12 December 2017. By 1881 they were living in

Great Cumberland Place Great Cumberland Place is a street in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, England. There is also a hotel bearing the same name on the street. Description The street runs from Oxford Street at Marble Arch to George Street at Bryans ...

, Marylebone, and employed four servants.Gustavus C P Murray England and Wales Census, 1881.
Family Search. Retrieved 12 December 2017. Their second son, Stormont Murray, became a physician who practiced in London.

Medical career

Murray enrolled in the medical school of King's College, London, when

Arthur Farre Arthur Farre Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (6 March 1811, in London – 17 December 1887, in London) was an English Obstetrics, obstetric physician. Life Farre was born in London on 6 March 1811, to Dr. John Richard Farre. He was educated at ...

was professor of obstetrics and 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 ...

in 1856. He studied at the Vienna General Lying-in Hospital where

puerperal fever The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

had been tackled by

Ignaz Semmelweis Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (; ; 1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist of German descent who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures and was described as the "saviour of mothers". Postpartum infections, ...

. Subsequently, he received his M.D. from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1860 for a thesis titled "On the Medico-Legal aspect of certain morbid conditions that may be mistaken for pregnancy". In 1858, Murray claimed, in a paper in ''The Lancet'', to be able to tell the exact parts of a fetus, including each vertebra and the cleft between the buttocks, through feeling the abdomen of the pregnant woman. At the time, these women would have been examined only at labour and to be able to distinguish fetal parts during the antenatal period was felt to be unbelievable. His work was recognised by

, an eminent obstetrician and pioneer of listening to the

fetal heartbeat Heart development, also known as cardiogenesis, refers to the prenatal development of the heart. This begins with the formation of two endocardial tubes which merge to form the tubular heart, also called the primitive heart tube. The heart is ...

, in Pinard's 1889 book on abdominal palpation in pregnancy, but his innovations in the examination of pregnant women were ignored in England. At the start of his career he had consulting rooms at his home at 17 Green Street, Mayfair, a fashionable location for doctors. He was physician-accoucheur and physician for the diseases of women and children to the St George's and St James's Dispensary. He was physician and later consulting physician-accoucheur to the St Pancras Provident Dispensary and was closely associated with the Establishment for Gentlewomen in

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.British Lying-In Hospital The British Lying-In Hospital was a maternity hospital established in London in 1749, the second such foundation in the capital. Background The impetus for the creation of a dedicated maternity hospital was dissatisfaction on the part of the gov ...

Endell Street Endell Street, originally known as Belton Street, is a street in London's West End that runs from High Holborn in the north to Long Acre and Bow Street, Covent Garden, in the south. A long tall narrow building on the west side is an 1840s-built ...

, London, where he was a governor, and then to the Great Northern Central Hospital, Caledonian Road, Islington. He was a fellow of the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society and elected a fellow of the Obstetrical Society of London in 1859. Towards the end of his career he was to become president of the London society but was unable to take up the position due to ill health.

''The Doctor''

Murray's professional demeanor may have been the inspiration for the attentive and concerned physician in

's painting ''The Doctor'' (1891) after he attended the artist's first child, Philip, when he became ill and died at Christmas 1877. Murray and Fildes were well known to each other, and Murray had delivered all the Fildes children. The artist's son, also

, wrote in his biography of his father: "The character and bearing of their doctor throughout the time of their anxiety, made a deep impression on my parents. Dr Murray became a symbol of professional devotion which would one day inspire the painting of ''The Doctor''." And: "''The Doctor'' had been on my father's mind ever since Dr Murray watched over Philip". Fildes junior made it clear in his book, however, that the figure in the painting was a composite of several people, including Fildes's friend

Dr Thomas Buzzard Thomas Lovell Buzzard (24 August 1831 – 1 January 1919) was a Victorian English doctor who worked at the National Hospital, Queen Square. He was a pioneering neurologist who founded an epilepsy society and wrote also on Parkinson's disease. ...

Death

Murray died on 7 August 1887 at 66

, London, after becoming weak with stomach and liver problems. His death has been attributed to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. He left an estate of £4,132.1887 Probate Calendar.
Retrieved 12 December 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Gustavus 1887 deaths British obstetricians Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1831 births Physician-accoucheurs