Henry Edmund Gaskin Boyle

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(2 April 1875 – 15 October 1941) was a pioneering

anaesthetist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, a ...

best remembered for the development of early

anaesthetic machine An anaesthetic machine (British English) or anesthesia machine (American English) is a medical device used to generate and mix a fresh gas flow of medical gases and inhalational anaesthetic agents for the purpose of inducing and maintaining ana ...

Early life

Born in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, he was the only child of Henry Eudolphus Boyle, estate manager and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Law Gaskin, a member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

. He moved to England in 1894 after schooling at Harrison College,

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

Professional life

Boyle qualified MRCS LRCP in 1901 from

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

, London. He worked as a junior anaesthetist at Barts and was appointed visiting consultant in 1903. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he worked with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

in London, publishing over 3600 cases anaesthetised with nitrous oxide-oxygen-ether. His work was recognised with an

. Boyle promoted intratracheal insufflation techniques using

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

and

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

, replacing open-drop anaesthesia. Initially he used imported Gwathmey machines from the USA, but finding them unreliable, he developed his own continuous-flow machines. His design included cylinders for the gases and a "Boyle's Bottle" to vaporize

diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound with the chemical formula , sometimes abbreviated as . It is a colourless, highly Volatility (chemistry), volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable liquid. It belongs ...

. Until recently, an

was often referred to as a " Boyle's Machine" in honour of his contribution. His other contributions to

anaesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

include the Boyle-Davis gag (still used today during

tonsillectomy Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). For those wit ...

operations) and a popular textbook, ''Practical Anaesthetics'' (1907 and two subsequent editions).

Personal life

Boyle married Mildred Ethel Wildy Green (1879 - 1960), widow of architect Leslie William Green (1875 - 1908).https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/mildred-ethel-wildy-24-6q33ky

Honours and Fellowships

He was president of the Section of Anaesthetics of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

in 1923, a founding member of the

Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland The Association of Anaesthetists, in full the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI), is a professional association for anaesthesiology, anaesthetists in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It was f ...

and an early examiner for the Diploma in Anaesthesia. Since 2000 the department at

has been named the Boyle Department of Anaesthesia. Boyle was also a committed Freemason and a member of the Caribbean Lodge under the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Henry Edmund Gaskin 1875 births 1941 deaths British anaesthetists Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) 20th-century Barbadian people