Lindsey Fitzharris (born 1982) is an American author, medical historian, and television host. She is the creator of the blog ''The Chirurgeon's Apprentice'', and the writer and host of the

Smithsonian Channel The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facil ...

TV series ''The Curious Life and Death of...''. She is a resident of the United Kingdom.

Career

Fitzharris holds a Ph.D. in the History of Science, Medicine & Technology, received from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 2009. She was awarded a postdoctoral award from the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

in 2010. In 2017, she published '' The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine'', a biography of surgical pioneer

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and pioneer of aseptic, antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare. Joseph Lister revolutionised the Sur ...

. The book won the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, and was named an

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Notable Nonfiction book for 2018. The book was also shortlisted for the

Wellcome Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 ...

and

Wolfson History Prize The Wolfson History Prizes are literary awards given annually in the United Kingdom to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public. Prizes are given annually for two or three exceptional work ...

in the United Kingdom that same year. To date, ''The Butchering Art'' has been translated into fourteen languages. Fitzharris has written for publications such as ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'', and ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

''. In March 2019, Fitzharris appeared on ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

''. Her interview was #1 on Chartable, with millions of downloads in the first week. Fitzharris is also the writer and host of the television series, '' The Curious Life and Death of...'', which premiered on the

in 2020. Her second book, ''The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I'', about plastic surgery pioneer

Harold Gillies Sir Harold Delf Gillies (17 June 1882 – 10 September 1960) was a New Zealand otolaryngologist and father of modern plastic surgery for the techniques he devised to repair the faces of wounded soldiers returning from World War I. Early life ...

, was released in 2022. The audiobook for ''The Facemaker'' was narrated by the actor

Daniel Gillies Daniel Joshua Gillies (born March 14, 1976) is a Canadian-born New Zealand actor, film producer, director and screenwriter. He played Elijah Mikaelson on '' The Vampire Diaries'' and its spin-off, '' The Originals;'' Dr. Joel Goran on '' Saving ...

, the great, great nephew of Sir Harold Gillies. She appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

The Museum of Curiosity ''The Museum of Curiosity'' is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd (producer), John Lloyd (Professor of Ignorance at the University of Buckingham, and later at Solent Unive ...

'' in October 2019. Her hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "A cemetery gun".

Bibliography

* '' The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine'' (2017) (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) , * ''The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I'' (2022) (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzharris, Lindsey Living people 1982 births Alumni of the University of Oxford American science writers American medical writers American medical historians American women medical writers American magazine writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American women science writers American expatriates in England