List of doctors and surgeons

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This article details some individual Doctors and Surgeons. For general information and research guidance, see the main Doctor article.

Individuals

A further list of surgeons, who found fame as botanists and naturalists can be found in that article.

Bengal

• Gabriel Broughton was, perhaps, the most influential doctor in the history of British India. In the year 1636 the daughter of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jehan, was badly burnt following the upset of an oil lamp. The Emperor sent for the English ship's surgeon, Gabriel Broughton, who was able to assist her. In a later incident he treated another lady of the Emperor's harem. In reward for his services he asked that the East India Company be given a charter to trade in Bengal.
• William Hamilton (Wikipedia), a surgeon, died 1717. In gratitude for the success of the medical treatment given to him by Hamilton, the Mughal Emperor, Furrukhsiyar, made generous gifts to the English surgeon. He also allowed the East India Company to purchase about 30 villages which enabled fortification of their position around Calcutta and greatly strengthened their trading presence in Bengal. Hamilton's profession, therefore, played a significant role in establishing the early influence of the East India Company. Photo of memorial to Surgeon William Hamilton on Fibis database
• The Diaries of Three Surgeons of Patna, 1763 edited by W K Firminger 1909. The diaries of William Anderson, Peter Campbell and William Fullarton (Fullerton) about the massacre at Patna in 1763. William Anderson died there. His diary is also published in the Calcutta Review, Volume 79 1884 which is available online on the Digital Library of India website, computer page 349.(Search for Calcutta Review, Vol 79). Refer Online books-Digital Library of India for more details about this site. William Fullerton was appointed Surgeon to the Calcutta General Hospital in 1744
• John Farquhar Assistant Surgeon c 1794 was “better known for the large fortune which he acquired from the various speculations into which he entered", brief details are in this link Archive.org
• William Lewis M'Gregor (or McGregor) 1801-1853. He gained his M.D. at Edinburgh 1825. He was appointed Assistant Surgeon 15 March 1826 and Surgeon 13 January 1842. He took part in the 1st Sikh War as surgeon of the 1st Bengal (European) Fusiliers, also known as the 1st European Light Infantry. He had also resided, for a time, at Lahore, as physician to Runjeet Singh, the Sikh leader (who died in 1839). M'Gregor wrote The History of the Sikhs Volume I and The History of the Sikhs containing an Account of the War between the Sikhs and the British in 1845-46 Volume II both published in 1846 Google Books. He describes how at the end of 1836 he performed galvanism, a type of electric shock therapy on the ailing Runjeet Singh, page 274 of Volume 1. Allen’s Indian Mail, page 673 reported M'Gregor’s death on 11 September 1853.
• Stray Leaves from the Diary of an Indian Officer by Robert Bakewell Cumberland 1865 Google Books. The author was an Assistant Surgeon in the Bengal Medical Service from 1828, became a Surgeon 1 February 1845, and retired 20 January 1854.
• The ‘Apostle of Mesmerism in India’ Dr James Esdaile. Appointed 1831, returned to England in 1851. British Library-Untold Lives 25 January 2013.
• John M'Cosh, generally written McCosh, joined the Bengal Medical Service in 1831 and retired in 1856. In 1833 he was travelling to Australia on sick leave when he was shipwrecked. He spent two years in Assam and served in the 2nd Sikh War and the 2nd Burma War, where he was a pioneer photographer. For further details see Photographer-Individuals. He also wrote poetry.
  

His books and articles include

• Narrative of the wreck of the lady Munro, on the desolate island of Amsterdam, October, 1833 by J M'Cosh, Assistant Surgeon Hon. East India Company, Bengal Service 1835 Google Books
• Topography of Assam by John M'Cosh 1837. Google Books
• Medical Advice to the Indian Stranger by John M'Cosh M.D. (1841). Google Books
• "On an Overland Route Between Calcutta and China" by J McCosh MD, late Bengal Medical Staff Colburn’s United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal 1861 Part 2 page 50

• John Login worked for the Bengal Medical Service from 1832 until the young Duleep Singh last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire was placed under his care in 1849. Sir John remained his guardian until 1858. Sir John Login and Duleep Singh by Lady Login. With an introduction by G. B. Malleson 1890 Archive.org.
• Obituary of Surgeon Major Allan Webb, died 15 September 1863, age 55, entered the Bengal Medical Service in 1835. A second obituary. Obituary from the British Medical Journal. For many years from 1842, in addition to his other positions, he was surgeon to the Lower Orphan School, Calcutta, probably until his retirement, or close to it.
• Autobiography of an Indian Army Surgeon: Or, Leaves Turned Down from a Journal by Wilmington Walford M.D. (published 1854) Google Books.
• Frederic John Mouat 1816-1897, Bengal Surgeon, was a leading figure in the field of education and prison reform, ca 1840-1870 Wikipedia His Obituary was published in the British Medical Journal.

• Observations on the nosological arrangement of the Bengal medical returns by Frederic John Mouat Assistant Surgeon, Bengal Army, Professor of Materia Medica and Medical Jurisprudence in the Bengal Medical College 1845 Google Books
  
• Report on jails visited and inspected in Bengal, Behar and Arracan by Frederic John Mouat Inspector of Jails, Lower Provinces 1856 Google Books

• Recollections of My Life by Surgeon-General Sir Joseph Fayrer 1900 Archive.org. Largely devoted to his life in India. He joined the Bengal Medical Service in 1850. He was at Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny page 130 He returned to England in 1872, but accompanied the Prince of Wales on his visit to India in 1875.
• Memories of Seven Campaigns: a record of thirty-five years' service in the Indian Medical Department in India, China, Egypt, and the Sudan by James Howard Thornton, Deputy Surgeon General, Indian Medical Service, late Principal Medical Officer Punjab Frontier Force. 1895 Archive.org. The author was in the Bengal Medical Service 1856-1891.
• Obituary of Assistant-Surgeon W. J. Thomson, Civil Surgeon of Gurgaon (near Delhi), who died 1863. He had “an early death” and appears to have joined the Bengal Medical Service after 1858.
• Dr. William Brooke O'Shaughnessy (1809-1889), modernised treatment for cholera, introduced cannabis to Western medicine, laid first telegraph system in Asia.

• Memoir of Surgeon-Major Sir W. O'Shaughnessy Brooke...etc by M Adams (1889) Archive.org

• Recollections of the Kabul campaign 1879 & 1880 by Joshua Duke, Bengal Medical Service 1883 Archive.org. He initially had duties with the Staff and then took over medical charge of the 5th Goorkhas
• Captain J. R. Roberts, I. M. S., Agency Surgeon at Gilgit took many of the photographs in the book Making of a frontier: five years' experiences and adventures in Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar, Chitral & the eastern Hindu-Kush by Algernon Durand 1900 Archive.org, and is mentioned page xi of the Preface.

Madras

• Colly Lyon Lucas joined the EIC’s service 9 January 1764. "A Lucas Family: From Ireland to India" by David Atkinson FIBIS Journal Number 26 Autumn 2011, pages 11-25
• Diseases of India by Sir James Annesley, 3rd edition. Google books. Commences with details of his career as a Military Surgeon in the Madras Presidency from 1800 until he retired in 1838, after five years on the Medical Board.
• Edward Green Balfour (Wikipedia) ,appointed Assistant Surgeon in the Madras Medical Service and sailed for India 1834. Retired 1876. Pages from History: Edward the green Balfour Madras Musings March 16-31 2010
• George Edward Aldred was appointed an Assistant Surgeon in the Madras Medical Service on the 20th of April 1847. This page from Asplin Military History shows the appointment procedures. He was court martialled for unbecoming conduct in July 1848 and dismissed, as this item from Allen’s Indian Mail 1848 shows, but subsequently reinstated.
• William Robert Cornish (Wikipedia). Appointed Assistant Surgeon Madras 1854. Retired in 1885 as head of the Madras Presidency Medical Services

Bombay

• Andrew Jukes from Encyclopedia Iranica. Appointed Assistant Surgeon 1798.
• Narrative of the Campaign of the Indus in Sind and Kaubool in 1838-9 by Richard Hartley Kennedy M.D. Chief of the Medical Staff of the Bombay Division of the Army of the Indus. 1840 Volume 1 Volume 2
• Henry Vandyke Carter 1831-1897 (Wikipedia) provided the drawings for the famous medical text book Gray’s Anatomy. He later joined the Bombay Medical Service where he had a distinguished research career and was Principal of the Grant Medical College Bombay.

• Obituary in the British Medical Journal dated 15 May 1897
• Details of his youth and final years in Scarborough
• “Happy Birthday, Gray’s Anatomy” by Adrian E Flatt. 2009. Contains some biographical details.
• Dr Vandyke Carter, Doctor from History of Leprosy, an initiative of the International Leprosy Association
• ”Causation Controversies in India: the Leprosy Career of Henry Vandyke Carter” Chapter 2, page 55 (online page 67) from Leprosy in the Bombay Presidency 1840-1897 Perceptions and Approaches to its Control . A PhD thesis in History by Shubhada S Pandya 2001
• List of Carter Papers in the Wellcome Institute, with a Biographical Note

• John Henry Sylvester was appointed to the Bombay Medical Service in 1853. His book Recollections of the campaign in Malwa and Central India: under Major General Sir Hugh Rose by Assistant Surgeon John Henry Sylvester 1860 Google Books is about the campaign during the Indian Mutiny. C 1875 he wrote a manuscript which was published in 1971 by Macmillan, London under the title Cavalry surgeon : the recollections of Deputy Surgeon-General John Henry Sylvester, Bombay Army. Available at the British Library Review of the book (Scroll to bottom) html version, original pdf which says "It’s description of ruthless fighting on the North-west frontier has no equal but Winston Churchhill’s Malakand Field Force". This link, scroll down, gives details of his service: He served in the Bombay Medical Service from 1853-1875. He saw service during the Persian campaign 1856-1857, Indian Mutiny, the Central India campaign, action at Mundesur, Jhansi, the battles of the Betwa and Kunch and the capture of Kalpi and Gwalior. In 1863 he was present on the North West Frontier and then saw action at Buner pass and the burning of Ambela
• George Edward Seward, who joined the Bombay Medical Service in 1855, is the subject of this India List post. His service included that of Medical Officer and Cantonment Magistrate at Baroda, where he was instrumental in discovering poison in the cup given through the Gaekwar’s agents to Sir Robert Phayre in 1874, later giving evidence at the famous Baroda trial.
• Obituary of R Markham Carter 1875-1961 from the British Medical Journal. A large part of his career was in Bombay. He was renowned for the stand he took in respect of the appalling conditions suffered by casualties at Basra in Mesopotamia during the First World War.

Indian Medical Service

• Photograph of Surgeon-Major JW Rodgers, Indian Medical Service flickr.com. Rodgers joined the 2nd Sikhs as medical officer in 1886. He retired in 1911 with rank of Lt. Colonel.
• Captain Robert Douglas Scriven of the Indian Medical Service was awarded the Military Cross for his escape in 1942 from a Japanese P.O.W. camp, following the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941 His story is told in this obituary of Colonel Tony Hewitt.

Royal Army Medical Corps and the earlier British Army Medical Services

• Sir James McGrigor, later Director-General of the Army Medical Department, spent a short time in Bombay and Ceylon with the 88th Regiment of Foot from mid 1799. Chapter VI of his autobiography
• Andrew Leith Adams (Wikipedia) travelled to India in 1849 with the 64th Regiment of Foot and remained for seven years. Wanderings of a naturalist in India: the western Himalayas, and Cashmere by Andrew Leith Adams MD (1867) Google Books.
• Kohat, Kuram, and Khost; Or, Experiences and Adventures in the Late Afghan War by Richard Gillham-Thomsett, Surgeon, Army Medical Department 1884 Archive.org. He was initially appointed to the 20A Battery of Artillery.
• “War in Burma-the Award of the Victoria Cross to Ferdinand Simeon Le Quesne" (pdf) by PH Starling from Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps March 2009. The award was for action in Burma 4 May 1889 when he was a Surgeon Captain with the 2nd Norfolk Regiment. He would have been part of the British Army Medical Services at this time, not the Indian Medical Service. He had later (broken) service in Burma and India until 1909.
• Field Force to Lhasa 1903-1904. Fifty letters home by Captain Cecil Mainprise of the Royal Army Medical Corps who took part in the Tibet Expedition. His obituary in the British Medical Journal 3 March 1951 indicates he had further service in India, including the 3rd Afghan War of 1919.
• Reminiscences of Professor R H Girdwood, Royal Army Medical Corps, WW2 scotsatwar.org.uk

Other

• Theodore Ludvig Frederick Folly was a Danish surgeon who worked in the Danish colony of Tranquebar “The Medical Skills of the Malabar Doctors in Tranquebar, India, as Recorded by Surgeon T L F Folly, 1798” by Niklas Thode Jensen, PhD student Med Hist. 2005 October 1; 49(4): 489–515.
• Dr John Martin Honigberger 1795-1865 was physician to the court of Lahore for periods from 1829 to 1849 and known to his Sikh contemporaries as Martin Sahib. The Sikh Encyclopedia Thirty-five years in the East: Adventures, discoveries, experiments, and historical sketches, relating to the Punjab and Cashmere; in connection with medicine, botany, pharmacy, etc. Together with an original materia medica; and a medical vocabulary, in four European and five Eastern languages by John Martin Honigberger, late Physician to the Court of Lahore 1852 Google Books. The article "From the Land of Dracula to an English Rectory, vai the Sikh Court and India's Forests" by Peter Hubert FIBIS Journal Number 26, Autumn 2011, pages 2-10.
• John Williamson Palmer 1825-1906 was an American doctor, appointed, in Hong Kong, surgeon on the EIC war steamer Phlegethon (Bengal Marine). The previous surgeon, returning from a dinner party had slipped overboard and was drowned. The Phlegethon took part in the 2nd Burma War in 1852-1853 and The golden Dagon, or, Up and down the Irrawaddi: being passages of adventure in the Burman Empire by John Williamson Palmer 1856 Google Books details his experiences. He also wrote "The Chorus of the Palanquin Bearers", a description of his transit through Cossitollah Street, Calcutta. Biographical details
• A Glimpse of India being a collection of extracts from the letters Dr. Clara A. Swain, first medical missionary to India of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America 1909 Archive.org and Clara A. Swain, M.D.: first medical missionary to the women of the Orient by Mrs. Robert Hoskins. 1912 Archive.org
• Pennell of the Afghan frontier; the life of Theodore Leighton Pennell, M.D., B. SC., F.R.C.S. Kaisar-i-Hind medal for public service in India by Alice Maud Pennell 1914. Dr Pennell of the Bannu Medical Mission died at the age of 44.
• Dr Ida: The Story Of Dr Ida Scudder Of Vellore by Dorothy Clarke Wilson 1959. Archive.org. Dr Ida Scudder was an American medical missionary who practised as a doctor in India from c 1900, who was the driving force behind the establishment of the Vellore Christian Medical College and Hospital
• World War II in British India by Hermann M. Selzer, M. D. Born a Polish Jew, he studied medicine in Germany and Italy and worked with his wife, as doctors in Lahore from the late 1930s. In December 1940, the family was arrested and taken as enemy aliens to first Purandhar and then Satara internment camps in Southern India until August 1946, when they were released and returned to Lahore. gaebler.info
• Laura and Charles Hope were Baptist medical missionaries from Australia, for most of the period 1893 to 1934, as described in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

External links

Medical History of British India - National Library of Scotland