Dr. Thomas Masterman Winterbottom (26 March 1766, in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

– 8 July 1859) was an

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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 ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

remembered for describing

African trypanosomiasis African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma bru ...

and the associated Winterbottom's sign.

Biography

Thomas Winterbottom was the eldest son of Dr. James Winterbottom, a surgeon-apothecary, and Lydia née Masterman, and was educated by the local Curate. He studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and then the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. He was appointed physician to the colony of the

Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the Freetown, second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settler ...

in 1792, spending 4 years in Africa. During this period he accepted John Macaulay Wilson into his household. Wilson went on to become one of the first European trained African medical staff in Africa. In 1793, Winterbottom became one of the founder members of the

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. In 1796 he returned to South Tyneside to take over his father's practice in South Shields. He wrote an account of his time in Africa which was published in 1803, and which contains the description of African trypanosomiasis (Sleeping sickness), for which he is known. He noted that slave traders used the sign of neck swelling as an indicator of sleepiness, and would avoid those slaves; this sign of cervical lymphadenopathy became his eponymous sign. He married in 1803, and settled in

Westoe Westoe was originally a village near South Shields, in the South Tyneside district, in Tyne and Wear, England, but has since become part of the town and is now used to refer to the area of the town where the village once was. It is also an Wards o ...

. He ran his general practice for 30 years, and published several medical books and papers. He retained his interest in medicine until his death at the age of 93, at the time the oldest doctor in Britain. His wife had died in 1840, and he had no children, so his considerable estate was left to a number of charities which he had supported during his life. The bulk of this bequest was to found the South Shields Marine College, which he had established in 1837. His friends, including Robert Ingham MP and Richard Shortridge MP, ensured that the college opened on 26 March 1866, on the centenary of Winterbottom's birth. The college later became

South Tyneside College South Tyneside College is a large further education college in South Tyneside in North East England. Its main site is in the town of South Shields. The college offers part-time and full-time courses for young students and adults. It was formed i ...

.South Shields Marine College and its Founder
at Lindenbridge Publications & Research Services website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winterbottom, Thomas Masterman 19th-century English medical doctors 18th-century English medical doctors 1766 births 1859 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh