Sir Joseph Fayrer, 1st BaronetFRSFRSE FRCS FRCP KCSI LLD (6 December 1824 – 21 May 1907) was a British physician who served as Surgeon General in India. He is noted for his writings on medicine, 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, of germs as the cause of cholera.[1]
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, Devon.[2] 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, Hartley Coleridge and John Wilson. 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, London in 1844 and his fellow students included William Guyer Hunter and Thomas Henry Huxley. 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 and Rome. He then resumed his study of medicine at Rome and received an MD in 1849.[3]
IndiaEdit
Personal bookplate of "Sir Joeseph Fayrer, Bart. K.C.S.I. M.D. F.R.S." "NE TENTES AUT PERFICE" from his copy, Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal of 1868
Appointed an assistant surgeon in the Indian Medical Service of Bengal 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 in 1853. He married Bethia Mary, daughter of Brigadier General Andrew Spens, on 4 October 1855, at Lucknow. During the Indian Mutiny, his home in Lucknow became a hospital as well as a fortress. It was at his home that Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence 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 in March 1859, presenting the thesis "On amputation at the hip-joint and excision of the head of the femur".[4] 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 in 1869 and when the Prince of Wales made his tour in India he was appointed to accompany him as physician. He was later appointed Physician Extraordinary to King Edward VII in 1901.[5] 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 for 1879-1881 and on 7 February 1896 he was created a baronet.[2][3] 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.[6]
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 hogs for the Zoological Society of London.[7] He became a fellow of the Royal Society 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).[8] 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 Thomas Henry Huxley 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.
After retirement he took an interest in deep-sea fishing and yachting. He died at his home, Belfield, Wood Lane, Falmouth, Cornwall, on 21 May 1907.[3]
In front of a sword erect Proper pommel and hilt Gold a horse-shoe Or between two wings Gules.
Escutcheon
Argent on a bend inverted Sable between in chief an Eastern crown Gules and in base the staff of AEsculapius Proper enfiled with a like crown three horse-shoes Or.
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.[13]
His daughter Bethia Marion Fayrer (1857-1892) married William Dobrees Herries and is buried in Canongate Kirkyard in Edinburgh.
Select BibliographyEdit
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 CultureEdit
Dr. Fayrer appears as a supporting character in the 1977 Hindi film "Shatranj Ke Khilari", directed by Satyajit Ray and based on the short story of same name by Munshi Premchand. 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 been played by Indian theatre director and teacher Barry John.
ReferencesEdit
^Harrison, M (1992). "Tropical Medicine in Nineteenth-Century India". The British Journal for the History of Science. 25 (3): 299–318. doi:10.1017/S0007087400029137. PMID 11623058.
^ abAnon ("K.M.") (1907). "Obituary Notice - Surgeon-General Joseph Fayrer, Bart., K.C.S.I., M.D., L.L.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.C.P." Transactions of the Epidemiological Society. 26 (1906–07): 176. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
^ abcH.P. Cholmeley, rev. W. F. Bynum. "Fayrer, Sir Joseph, first baronet (1824–1907)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33099. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^Fayrer, Joseph (1859). "On amputation at the hip-joint and excision of the head of the femur". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Watts, Sheldon (2001). "From Rapid Change to Stasis: Official Responses to Cholera in British-Ruled India and Egypt: 1860 to c. 1921". Journal of World History. 12 (2): 321–374. doi:10.1353/jwh.2001.0047. ISSN 1045-6007. JSTOR 20078912. PMID 20039497. S2CID 36382485.
^ abHawgood, Barbara J. (1996). "Sir Joseph Fayrer MD FRS (1824–1907) Indian Medical Service: Snakebite and mortality in British India". Toxicon. 34 (2): 171–182. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(95)00118-2. PMID 8711752.
joseph, fayrer, baronet, frse, frcs, frcp, kcsi, december, 1824, 1907, british, physician, served, surgeon, general, india, noted, writings, medicine, work, public, health, studies, particularly, treatment, snakebite, india, also, involved, official, investiga. Sir Joseph Fayrer 1st Baronet FRS FRSE FRCS FRCP KCSI LLD 6 December 1824 21 May 1907 was a British physician who served as Surgeon General in India He is noted for his writings on medicine 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 of germs as the cause of cholera 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 India 3 Honours and arms 4 Family 5 Select Bibliography 6 In Popular Culture 7 References 8 External linksEarly life Edit Cover of his book on venomous snakesThe 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 Devon 2 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 Hartley Coleridge and John Wilson 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 London in 1844 and his fellow students included William Guyer Hunter and Thomas Henry Huxley 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 and Rome He then resumed his study of medicine at Rome and received an MD in 1849 3 India Edit Personal bookplate of Sir Joeseph Fayrer Bart K C S I M D F R S NE TENTES AUT PERFICE from his copy Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal of 1868Appointed an assistant surgeon in the Indian Medical Service of Bengal 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 in 1853 He married Bethia Mary daughter of Brigadier General Andrew Spens on 4 October 1855 at Lucknow During the Indian Mutiny his home in Lucknow became a hospital as well as a fortress It was at his home that Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence 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 in March 1859 presenting the thesis On amputation at the hip joint and excision of the head of the femur 4 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 in 1869 and when the Prince of Wales made his tour in India he was appointed to accompany him as physician He was later appointed Physician Extraordinary to King Edward VII in 1901 5 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 for 1879 1881 and on 7 February 1896 he was created a baronet 2 3 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 6 Fayrer s home in Lucknow after 1857 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 hogs for the Zoological Society of London 7 He became a fellow of the Royal Society 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 8 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 Thomas Henry Huxley 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 After retirement he took an interest in deep sea fishing and yachting He died at his home Belfield Wood Lane Falmouth Cornwall on 21 May 1907 3 Honours and arms EditFayrer was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India CSI in 1868 9 and promoted to Knight Commander KCSI in 1876 10 In 1876 Fayrer was incharge of the health of the Prince of Wales on his visit to India 8 Sir Joseph was created a baronet of Devonshire Street in the parish of St Marylebone in the County of London on 11 February 1896 11 Coat of arms of Joseph Fayrer Crest In front of a sword erect Proper pommel and hilt Gold a horse shoe Or between two wings Gules Escutcheon Argent on a bend inverted Sable between in chief an Eastern crown Gules and in base the staff of AEsculapius Proper enfiled with a like crown three horse shoes Or Motto Ne Tentes Aut Perfice 12 Family EditOn 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 13 His daughter Bethia Marion Fayrer 1857 1892 married William Dobrees Herries and is buried in Canongate Kirkyard in Edinburgh Select Bibliography EditFayrer 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 amp A Churchill London Fayrer Joseph Sir 1873 Clinical and pathological observations in India pub J amp A Churchill London Fayrer Joseph Sir 1873 European child life in Bengal pub J amp A Churchill London Brunton T Lauder Sir amp 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 amp 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 amp A Churchill London Fayrer Joseph Sir 1894 On preservation of health in India Macmillan amp Co London Fayrer Joseph Sir 1900 Recollections of my life pub William Blackwood amp sons London In Popular Culture EditDr Fayrer appears as a supporting character in the 1977 Hindi film Shatranj Ke Khilari directed by Satyajit Ray and based on the short story of same name by Munshi Premchand 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 been played by Indian theatre director and teacher Barry John References Edit Harrison M 1992 Tropical Medicine in Nineteenth Century India The British Journal for the History of Science 25 3 299 318 doi 10 1017 S0007087400029137 PMID 11623058 a b Anon K M 1907 Obituary Notice Surgeon General Joseph Fayrer Bart K C S I M D L L D F R C S F R C P Transactions of the Epidemiological Society 26 1906 07 176 Retrieved 25 June 2017 a b c H P Cholmeley rev W F Bynum Fayrer Sir Joseph first baronet 1824 1907 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 33099 Subscription or UK public library membership required Fayrer Joseph 1859 On amputation at the hip joint and excision of the head of the femur a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help No 27300 The London Gazette 29 March 1901 p 2194 Watts Sheldon 2001 From Rapid Change to Stasis Official Responses to Cholera in British Ruled India and Egypt 1860 to c 1921 Journal of World History 12 2 321 374 doi 10 1353 jwh 2001 0047 ISSN 1045 6007 JSTOR 20078912 PMID 20039497 S2CID 36382485 Fayrer J 1882 Porcula salvania Hodgson Nature 26 656 80 Bibcode 1882Natur 26R 80F doi 10 1038 026080c0 S2CID 4117638 a b Hawgood Barbara J 1996 Sir Joseph Fayrer MD FRS 1824 1907 Indian Medical Service Snakebite and mortality in British India Toxicon 34 2 171 182 doi 10 1016 0041 0101 95 00118 2 PMID 8711752 No 23452 The London Gazette 22 December 1868 p 6775 No 24303 The London Gazette 7 March 1876 p 1787 No 26709 The London Gazette 14 February 1896 p 858 Burke s Peerage 1959 Cholmeley Henry Patrick 1912 Fayrer Joseph In Lee Sidney ed Dictionary of National Biography 2nd supplement London Smith Elder amp Co External links Edit Works by or about Joseph Fayrer at Wikisource Huxley correspondence archive Joseph 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 Baronetage of the United KingdomNew creation Baronet of Devonshire Street 1896 1907 Succeeded byJoseph Fayrer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joseph Fayrer amp oldid 1166751358, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
