Robert Willis (1799 – 21 September 1878) was a Scottish physician, librarian, and medical historian.
Education
Willis was born in
Leith
Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith.
The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
,
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 ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. His father, Robert Willis, was a merchant. He was educated at the
High School of Edinburgh, where he formed a lifelong friendship with his contemporary
James Syme
James Syme (7 November 1799 – 26 June 1870) was a Scottish pioneering surgeon.
Early life
James Syme was born on 7 November 1799 at 56 Princes Street in Edinburgh. His father was John Syme WS of Cartmore and Lochore, estates in Fife ...
, who would become a surgeon and marry Willis's sister. Their daughter, Roberts niece,
Agnes Syme Lister, became a botanist and married the pioneer of antiseptic surgery,
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 ...
.
Work as a librarian (1828–1845)
Willis compiled a catalogue of the books of the
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 ...
which was published in 1831 (Cope, 1959)
Medical practice (1846–1878)
Willis lived and practised at
The Homestead,
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
*Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
* Barnes, London, England
** Barnes railway station
**Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes High Stree ...
, in succession to Dr. John Scott, from 1846 till his death.
Family
Willis's son,
Robert Watson Willis
Robert Watson Willis (26 July 1843 – 16 January 1892) was a British sportsman. He served as the second secretary of the Football Association from 1866 to 1867, succeeding Ebenezer Morley. He also served on the FA's committee from 1867 to 1872.
...
, served as secretary of the
Football Association
A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...
, and built Hinxton House, East Sheen, in 1877.
Scholarly work
Willis is remembered for his scholarly translation from Latin of the complete works of
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...
, published by the
Sydenham Society
The Sydenham Society was a medical society instituted in 1843 in London with the goal of improving the dissemination of medical text by means of translation. The society was considered "defunct" in late 1857 before being resurrected as the "New Sy ...
in 1847 (Sykes, 2001).
Confusion with Robert Willis (1800–1875)
The acoustic work of another man with the same name,
Robert Willis (1800–1875), is often mistakenly attributed to Willis. This is for instance the case in Robert Beyer's ''Sounds of Our Times: Two Hundred Years of Acoustics'' (1998). Sometimes, it is the other way round: Thierry Mandoul's ''Entre raison et utopie: l'Histoire de l'architecture d'Auguste Choisy'' (2008) erroneously gives the dates 1799–1878 for the Willis who worked in architecture.
Works by Willis
*Robert Willis: Translation of Spurzheim's ‘Anatomy of the Brain', 182
link*Robert Willis: Translation of Pierre Rayer's 'Treatise on diseases of the skin', 1835
**''A theoretical and practical treatise on the diseases of the skin'
1845 edition*Robert Willis: Urinary Diseases and their Treatment, 183
link*Robert Willis: Illustrations of cutaneous disease, 1839–1841
*Robert Willis: On the Treatment of Stone in the Bladder, 1842
**(critical) Review by W.C., ''Dr. Willis on the Treatment of Stone in the Bladder'', Provincial Medical Journal and Retrospect of the Medical Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 7 (21 May 1842), pp. 133–13
link*C. F. H. Marx and Robert Willis: On the decrease of disease effected by the progress of civilization, London, 184
link*Robert Willis: Translation of Rudolph Wagner's ‘Elements of Physiology’, 184
link*Robert Willis: The Works of William Harvey, M. D, London, 184
link*Robert Willis: Translation of Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, 186
link*Robert Willis: Benedict de Spinoza; His life, Correspondence, and Ethics, 187
link*Robert Willis: Servetus and Calvin, London, 187
link*Robert Willis: William Harvey, a history of the discovery of the circulation of the blood, 187
link
Other references
*
Willis, Robert at ''Dictionary of National Biography''
*Roger Cooter: ''The Cultural Meaning of Popular Science: Phrenology and the Organization of Consent in Nineteenth-Century Britain'', 1985 (page 299 has a biographical notice)
*Herman Goodman: ''Notable contributors to the knowledge of dermatology'', 1953
*Victor Cornelius Medvei: ''A history of endocrinology'', 1982
*''Proceedings of the Royal Medical & Chirurgical Society of London'' vol. viii, 1880, p. 390
*''The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle'': October 1833 – December 1834, 1973
*W. R. LeFanu: "Robert Willis – physician, librarian, medical historian", ''Proceedings of the XXIII International Congress of the History of Medicine'', London, 2–9 September 1972, Volume 2, 1974, p. 1111
*Alan H. Sykes: ''Sharpey's fibres: the life of William Sharpey, the father of modern physiology in England'', 2001
*Zachary Cope: ''The Royal College of Surgeons of England: a history'', 1959
Barnes history*Charles R. Fikar, Oscar L. Corral: "Non-librarian health professionals becoming librarians and information specialists: results of an Internet survey", ''Bull Med Libr Assoc'' 2001 January; 89(1): 59–67.
*Robert Paterson
''Memorials of the life of James Syme, professor of clinical surgery in the University of Edinburgh, etc.'' 1874
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Robert
1799 births
1878 deaths
19th-century Scottish historians
19th-century Scottish medical doctors
19th-century Scottish translators
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Latin–English translators
People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh
Medical doctors from Leith
Scottish librarians
Scottish medical historians