James Wardrop or Wardrope (1782–1869) was a Scottish surgeon and

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

Life

Wardrop was born on 14 August 1782, the youngest son of James Wardrop (1738-1830) and his wife, Marjory Marjoribanks, at Torbane Hill, near

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

, but at four years of age moved with the family to live in Edinburgh where he attended the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, and then

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. In 1800 he was apprenticed to a leading firm of surgeon apothecaries in Edinburgh, which included

Benjamin Bell Benjamin Bell of Hunthill FRSE FRCSEd (6 September 1749 – 5 April 1806) is considered to be the first Scottish scientific surgeon. He is commonly described as the father of the Edinburgh school of surgery,Richardson BWS, Martin MSM. Discip ...

, James Russell and his great uncle Andrew Wardrop, former president of the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

, and in 1801 was appointed House Surgeon at

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

. He trained in London from 1801 under John Abernethy and

Astley Cooper Sir Astley Paston Cooper, 1st Baronet (23 August 176812 February 1841) was a British surgeon and anatomist, who made contributions to otology, vascular surgery, the anatomy and pathology of the mammary glands and testicles, and the pathology ...

, then, from 1803 undertook further studies in Paris before moving to Vienna , where he joined his friend John Wishart studying ophthalmology under Georg Joseph Beer, one of the most celebrated eye surgeons in Europe. He was admitted a Fellow of the

in 1804 and worked at the

Public Dispensary A public dispensary, charitable dispensary or free dispensary gives advice and medicines free-of-charge, or for a small charge. Provident dispensary In the 19th and early 20th centuries a provident dispensary was a clinic offering medical care t ...

and set up in surgical practice specialising as an

ophthalmic surgeon Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

. In 1807 he became assistant curator of

Surgeons' Hall Museum Surgeons' Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). It houses the Surgeons' Hall Museum, and the library and archive of the RCSEd. The present Surgeons' Hall was designed by William ...

under Professor John Thomson and was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1808, upon the proposal of Andrew Wardrop, Alexander Keith of Dunnottar and James Russell. In 1805 he was elected a member of the

Aesculapian Club The Aesculapian Club of Edinburgh is one of the oldest medical dining clubs in the world. It was founded in April 1773 by Dr. Andrew Duncan. Membership of the club is limited to 11 Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and ...

. In 1808 he was sharing a large Georgian house in Edinburgh's First New Town at 4 South Hanover Street. Wardrop moved to

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 ...

, where he worked as an ophthalmic surgeon from 1809 to 1869. He was awarded his doctorate ( MD) by his alma mater,

, in 1834. He taught surgery from 1826 at the Aldersgate Street medical academy with Sir William Lawrence and Frederick Tyrrell, and published surgical treatises. Wardrop was early appointed Surgeon-in-Ordinary to the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

. This annoyed his rivals in London, and he found the doors of the large hospitals closed to him. In retaliation he founded the West London Hospital for Surgery near the

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes sever ...

, and invited general practitioners to watch him operate. Further royal honours came, but he declined a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

(in lieu of royal fees) and moved out of royal circles. His social gifts, a knowledge of horses and marriage to a wife with aristocratic connections, brought him popularity. Wardrop became a Fellow of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

in 1843. He died at Charles Street off St James Square, London on 13 February 1869. On his death he was buried in

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

Old Kirk.

Works

In 1809, Wardrop published ''Observations on Fungus Haematodes or Soft Cancer'' in which he for the first time described as an entity a pediatric eye cancer now known as

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and 80% of retinoblastoma cas ...

; and, unknowingly, a

uveal melanoma Uveal melanoma is a type of eye cancer in the uvea of the eye. It is traditionally classed as originating in the iris, choroid, and ciliary body, but can also be divided into class I (low metastatic risk) and class II (high metastatic risk). S ...

that he helped to enucleate and that later metastasized to the liver. Wardrop was associated with

Thomas Wakley Thomas Wakley (11 July 179516 May 1862) was an English surgeon. He gained fame as a social reformer who campaigned against incompetence, privilege and nepotism. He was the founding editor of ''The Lancet'', a radical Member of Parliament (MP) ...

in the founding of ''

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 ...

'' in 1823, for which he first wrote savage articles and, later, witty and scurrilous lampoons in his column 'Intercepted Letters'. The letters, under the pseudonym "Brutus", were thinly disguised as by leading London surgeons, revealing their nepotism, venality and incompetence. There was enough truth in them to make the parodies sting.

Family

In 1813 Wardrop married Margaret, daughter of Col. George L. Dalrymple of East Lothian and the widow of Captain Burn. They had four sons and a daughter.

References

Bibliography

* Wardrop, James 1808. ''Essays on the morbid anatomy of the human eye''. * Wardrop, James 1809. ''Observations on Fungus Haematodes or Soft Cancer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wardrop, James 1782 births 1869 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors People from West Lothian People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of St Andrews Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Scottish ophthalmologists Scottish surgeons