- Thomas Hodgkin
was born in London in 1798, the son of John Hodgkin (1766-1845), a private
tutor. The family were strong Quakers and originated in Warwickshire.
He trained in medicine at Edinburgh University, taking his M.D. in 1823.
After travels in Europe he became Curator of the Medical Museum and
Inspector of the Dead at Guy's Hospital, London. His pathological work
led him to the first description of what is now known as Hodgkin's Disease
in his honour. He left Guy's Hospital in following his failure, in 1837,
to be appointed Assistant Physician and after a short period at St.
Thomas's Hospital devoted himself to private practice and to his other
interests. He had a keen interest in the world beyond Europe and in
particular in the societies there that were threatened with cultural
extinction by the spread of European commercial, political or cultural
dominion; his works in this area included playing a moving role in the
foundation and functioning of the Aborigines Protection Society. In
1850 he married Sarah Frances Scaife, a widow, from Nottingham. The
couple had no children of their own but there were two sons from her
first marriage. He died in 1866 at Jaffa while on a journey with his
friend Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) to negotiate for better treatment
for Jewish residents in Palestine.
|