Sir Joseph Fayrer, 1st Baronet (6 December 1824 – 21 May 1907) was a British

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who served as Surgeon General in India. He is noted for his writings on

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, work on public health and his studies particularly on the treatment of snakebite, in India. He was also involved in official investigation on cholera, in which he did not accept the idea, proposed by

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( ; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he i ...

, of germs as the cause of cholera.

Early life

The second son of Robert John Fayrer (1788–1869), a Commander in the Royal Navy, and wife Agnes Wilkinson (d. 1861) he was born at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. Fayrer's father was in charge of steamships after his retirement from the navy. The family lived for a time at Haverbrack, Westmorland where Joseph became acquainted with

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

, Hartley Coleridge and

John Wilson John Wilson may refer to: Academics * John Wilson (historian) (1799–1870), author of ''Our Israelitish Origin'' (1840), a founding text of British Israelism * John Wilson (agriculturalist) (1812–1888), British agriculturalist * John Matthias ...

. Joseph studied some engineering in 1840 and joined as a midshipman and in 1843 he travelled with his father to Bermuda. An outbreak of yellow fever made him interested in medicine. He joined to study medicine at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is district general hospital and teaching hospital located in Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approxim ...

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 ...

in 1844 and his fellow students included

William Guyer Hunter Sir William Guyer Hunter, (1829 – 14 March 1902) was a British surgeon-general in India, principal of medical colleges and Conservative politician. He took part in official enquiries into vaccination and cholera. Life Hunter was born at Calcu ...

and

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...

. He became a house surgeon at Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital in his second year and became MRCS in 1847. He was in 1847 appointed medical officer of HMS ''Victory''. He then resigned his commission and travelled around Europe along with Ernest Augustus Edgcumbe, 3rd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, in the course of which he saw fighting at

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He then resumed his study of medicine at Rome and received an MD in 1849.

India

Appointed an assistant surgeon in the Indian Medical Service of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in 1850, he was posted at Chinsura, Cherrapunji and Dacca. He saw action as a field surgeon during the Burmese campaign of 1852. For his service, Lord Dalhousie made him political assistant and Residency surgeon at

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

in 1853. He married Bethia Mary, daughter of Brigadier General Andrew Spens, on 4 October 1855, at Lucknow. During the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

, his home in Lucknow became a hospital as well as a fortress. It was at his home that Sir

Henry Montgomery Lawrence Brigadier-General Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence (28 June 1806 – 4 July 1857) was a British military officer, surveyor, administrator and statesman in British India. He is best known for leading a group of administrators in the Punjab affecti ...

died. His wife and child survived and they were relieved on 17 November 1857. He left India on furlough in 1858 and obtained an MD from the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...

in March 1859, presenting the thesis ''"On amputation at the hip-joint and excision of the head of the femur".'' Returning to India in 1859, he became professor of surgery at the Medical College of Calcutta, and was briefly a personal surgeon to

Lord Mayo Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, (; ; 21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872) styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1842 to 1867 and Lord Mayo in India, was a prominent British statesman and Conservative politician. He served as Chief Secreta ...

in 1869 and when the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

made his tour in India he was appointed to accompany him as physician. He was later appointed Physician Extraordinary to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

in 1901. Returning to England in 1872, he acted as president of the Medical Board of the India office from 1874 to 1895, president of the

Epidemiological Society The Epidemiological Society of London was a British medical society founded in 1850 with the objective of investigating the causes and conditions which influence the origin, propagation, mitigation, and prevention of epidemic disease. In 1907 it m ...

for 1879-1881 and on 7 February 1896 he was created a

baronet 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 ...

. Fayrer held a position against the germ theory of cholera which had led to the idea of quarantine (which he considered as evil) and preferred the idea that disease was restricted to particular locations, with factors such as air, water, and weather being responsible. FayrerHome

He was President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1867 and proposed a scheme for a zoological garden in Calcutta. This was finally opened by the Prince of Wales in 1875. He took considerable interest in the wild animals and wrote a book on the tiger and procured living specimens of the

pygmy hog The pygmy hog (''Porcula salvania'') is a very small and endangered species of pig and the only species in the genus ''Porcula''. Endemic to India, the pygmy hog is a suid native of the alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas, at ...

s for the Zoological Society of London. He became a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1877, wrote much on subjects connected with the practice of medicine in India, and was especially known for his studies on the poisonous snakes of that country and on the physiological effects produced by their venom (''Thanatophidia of India'', 1872). He researched snake venom along with Thomas Lauder Brunton in 1867 with assistance of Dr F. C. Webb. The book was printed by the Indian government and illustrated by artists from the Calcutta School of Art. In 1879, he spoke on ''The progress of epidemiology in India'' (published in 1880). In 1900 he published his autobiography, ''Recollections of my Life''. Fayrer knew Persian, several Indian languages and Italian. He also took an interest in anthropology and interacted with

on the topic. He proposed that an Ethnological Congress be held by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1866. Although this exhibition was not held, the idea of an Ethnographic survey was realized a few years later by

Herbert Hope Risley Sir Herbert Hope Risley (4 January 1851 – 30 September 1911) was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, a member of the Indian Civil Service who conducted extensive studies on the tribes and castes of the Bengal Presidency. He ...

. After retirement he took an interest in deep-sea fishing and yachting. He died at his home, Belfield, Wood Lane,

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

, on 21 May 1907.

Honours and arms

Fayrer was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(CSI) in 1868, and promoted to

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

(KCSI) in 1876. In 1876 Fayrer was incharge of the health of the Prince of Wales on his visit to India. Sir Joseph was created a

''of Devonshire Street in the parish of

St Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropoli ...

in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

'' on 11 February 1896.

Family

On 4 October 1855, he married Bethia Mary Spens. They had six sons and two daughters. He was succeeded as second baronet by Sir Joseph Fayrer, 2nd Baronet. His daughter Bethia Marion Fayrer (1857-1892) married William Dobrees Herries and is buried in

Canongate Kirkyard The Canongate Kirkyard () stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century. The most celebrated burials at the kirkyard are the economist ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Select Bibliography

* Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1866)
"Clinical surgery in India"
John Churchill, London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1872)
"The Thanatophidia of India: Being a Description of the Venomous Snakes of the Indian Peninsula, with an Account of the Influence of Their Poison on Life and a Series of Experiments"
pub. J. & A. Churchill, London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1873)
"Clinical and pathological observations in India"
pub. J. & A. Churchill, London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1873)
"European child-life in Bengal"
pub. J. & A. Churchill, London. * Brunton, T. Lauder, Sir & Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1873
"On the nature and physiological action of the poison of Naja tripudians and other Indian venomous snakes"
in Proceedings of the Royal Society, No 145 (1873). * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1875)
"The royal tiger of Bengal, his life and death"
pub. J. & A. Churchill, London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1888)
's ''The natural history and epidemiology of cholera : being the annual oration of the Medical Society of London, May 7, 1888''
pub. J. & A. Churchill, London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1894)
"On preservation of health in India"
Macmillan & Co., London. * Fayrer, Joseph, Sir (1900)
"Recollections of my life"
pub. William Blackwood & sons, London.

In Popular Culture

Fayrer appears as a supporting character in the 1977 Hindi film "

Shatranj Ke Khilari ''Shatranj Ke Khilari'', also subtitled and later internationally released with the translated title ''The Chess Players'', is a List of Bollywood films of 1977, 1977 Indian film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on Munshi Premchand ...

", directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

and based on the short story of the same name by

Munshi Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu s ...

. In the film, he is seen having a discussion with Sir James Outram about the annexation of Oudh by the East India Company. He is played by Indian theatre director and teacher

Barry John Barry John (6 January 1945 – 4 February 2024) was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RF ...

References

External links

Huxley correspondence archiveJoseph Fayrer's ''The natural history and epidemiology of cholera'' (London, 1888)Recollections of my life (1900)The Thanatophidia of India (1872)The royal tiger of Bengal, his life and death (1875)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayrer, Joseph 1824 births 1907 deaths Fayrer, Joseph, 1st Baronet 19th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society Indian Medical Service officers Alumni of Charing Cross Medical School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Presidents of The Asiatic Society Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India