Sir William Thornley Stoker

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  • 8/13/2019 Sir William Thornley Stoker

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    JUNE 1 5 , 1 9 1 2 . 4 OBITUARY. E TH B R I T IMEDICAL J O U R N A L 1399

    SIR W LL M THORNLEY STOKER, B A R T . , M . D . ,D U B L I N .

    BY t h e d e a t l h o f S i r T h o r n l e y S t o k e r I r i s l s surgery h a sl o s t one o f i t s most b r i l l i a n t e x p o n e n i t s , and D t u b l i n s o c i e t yone o f i t s b e s t known and most w i d e l y e s t e e m e d f i g u r e s .H l e was t h e son o f A b r a l h a m n S t o k e r , w l h o f o r f i f t y yearsoccupied an important position i n t h e o f f i c e o f t h e C l i i e fS e c r e t a r y f o r I r e l a n d . Born s i x t y - s e v e n years a g o , t h ee l c l e s t o f a f a m i l y s e v e r a l o f w l h o s e i m l e m b e r s have w o l nd i s t i u c t i o n in v a r i e d f i e l d s a n d i n d i v e r s e p a r t s o f t h ee m i i p i r e , young S t o k e i was s e l n t t o an E n g l i s h p u b l i c s c h o o l ,a nid t h e n i c e t o s t u d y m i i e d i c i n e a t t l l e R o y a l C o l l e g e o fS u r g e o n s , D u i b l i n , a n d Q u e e n ' s C o l l e g e , G a l w a y . He t o o kt h e d e g r e e o f M I . D . i n t l l e Q u e e n i ' s U n i v e r s i t y ( s u b s e q u e n t l ynierged i n t h e R o y a l U n i v e r s i t y ) i n 1 8 6 6 and a t oncedevoted h i i m s e l f t oprivate t e a c h i n g . Hissuccess was r e m a r k a b l ef r o m t h e o u t s e t , a n d i n Xa very s h o r t t i m l l e he wasappointed to the surgicals t a l f of the Cit yD u b l i n Hospital. In1873 he m i g r a t e d to the WR i c h l m o n d H o s p i t a l , asthe group o f h o s p i t a l s - t 1_R i c l h m o n d , W h i i t w o r t h i ,y eand Hardwicke a ] ep o p u l a r l y kn o0 vn w h l e iever I r i s l h s t d e n t s con-g r e g a t e . In the w a f lso f t h e old Richmondmade famouis by thework o f Adams S m i l t ,C o r - r i g a n , anid manyo t h n e r s , li e proceeded byh l a r d work and t h e aceu-i o n u l a t i o n of e x p e r i e n c et o train h i n m s e l f for thed i s t i n g u L i s h e d place h i ew sa f t e r w a r d s to f i l l inI r i s l i s u a r g e r y . He f i l l e dthe Chair of Ani a t o my atthe Sclicol of t h l e RoyalCollege of S u r g e oinsIrela-nd for some yearsresigning i t , when i i soutside work expanded,i n t o the hands of the and al a t e Professor DaniielC i m n n i n g h i a m . He h o l dt h l i Examinership inSurgery in t h e R o y a lUni versi ty of Ireland,and earned the reputa-tion of be i ng e x a c t i n gas to knowledge b u t i S t W I L A Mgenerous in m a r k i n g . Pholor raph b y ]He was Surgeon toSwift s Hospital, the famuous fouindation of the great D-3 a n , 1 f o r fools and mnad. ew sInspector of Vivisection forIrela n d , and held the office of H i s ' M a j e s , t y ' s I nsp ect orunder the Anatomy Acts, in succession to Iris b r o t h e ' r - i n -lawand hospital colleague, t h l e late Sir William ThomsonC.B.These m u l t i f a r i o u s d u t i e s d i d n o t exhaust Iis activities.etook great interest in h ospital administration. ew saG o v e r n ' o r of Swift s Hospital, and also of the Richimond.n w l i a t e v e r administrative board he sat his w sa Id o m i n i a n t voice, for he spoke out of full knowledge andwith manifest and unselfish earnestness. Thle late SirWilliam Thom-son and hewere responsible for tir e estab-lishment of the schlool of nursing at the Richmond; andit was to their courage anid energy that the rebuilding ofthe Richmond surgical block in 1899--1900 w s largelydue. ad their courage failed them the block wouldl h a v e b e e n f a r f r o m t h e b e a u t i f u l b u i l d i n g i t i s t o - d a y ;w i t h l e s s energy t h e h o s p i t a l m i g l h t h a v e b e e n c r i p p l e db y d e b t . But t h e y nerved t h e B o a r d o f G o v e r n o r s t o

    b u i l d on t l h e m l l o s t g e n e r o u s s c a l e . a n d t he y f o u nd e q u a l l yg e n e r o u s d o n o r s t o p a y f o r i t .The c h a r a c t e r o f S i r T h o r n l e y S t o k e r ' s s u r g i c a l w o r li m a y b e j u l d e d b y t h e t i t l e s o f some o f h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n st o t h e P r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e o l d S u r g i c a l S o c i e t y a n d o f t h eR o y a l A c a d e m i y o f M e d i c i n e . They i n c l u d e d : H y s t e r -e c t o m y a n d O v a r i o t o m y , 1 8 8 0 ; R e m o v ' t l o f T l h y r o i dG l a n d , 1 8 8 3 ; E x c i s i o n o f t h e K n e e - j o i n t , 1 8 8 7 ; E p i -d u r a l H a e m o r r h a g e T r e a t e d b y T r e p l h i n i n g , 1 8 8 8 ; L a p a r o t o m y i n E c t o p i c G e s t a t i o n , 1 8 8 9 , a n d m a nyo t h e r s on m a t t e r s w h i c h t t h e n w e r e , o r h a v e s i n c e b e c o m e , l i v e p r o b l e m i s . On a c c o u - n t o f h i i s c o n n e x i o n w i t hDean S w i f t s f o u n d a t i o n i , l h e t o o k a s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t i n t l h os u r g e r y o f t h e c e r e b r o - s p i n a l c a v i t y . H e d r a i n e d c e r e b r a la b s c e s s e s s u c c e s s f u l l y i n t l l e E i g h t i e s , a n d p e r f o r m n e dd e c o m p r e s s i o n o p e r a t i o n i s l o l i g b e f or e t h e n a me wa si n v e n t e d . H e a tt ai n ed g r e at s k i l l i n l i t h o t r i t y , a n d - v a samong t h e f i r s t t o p r a c t i s e p r o s t a t e c t o m y , a d v o c a t i n g t h a to p e r a t i o n a s w a r m l y a s t h e l a t e S i r W i l l i a m T h o m s o n .As o f a n o t h e r g r e a t I r i s h -m a n , i t m a y b e s a i d o fI h i m , N i h i l t e t i g i t q l o tn o n o r n a v i t .He w a s , h i o w e v e r , n i om e e i n d i v i d u a l i s t i n h i sp r o f e s s i o n . H i s wa s

    e i m i n e n t l y t h e s o c i a lm i i n d . H e t o o k a w a r n i -j ' ~ ~ ' ~ ~ a n d f i g h t i n g i n t e r e s t i nm e d i c a l a f f a i r s a n d m a ny p b l i c m o v e m e n t s . T h e c -. , . ~ ~ g r i e v a n c e s o f t h e I r i s h~ P o o r La w d o c t o r , t h ee v i l s o f t h e w o r k h o u s es y s t e m , t h e p r e v e n t i o n o f c r u e l t y t o a n i m a l s e v o k e dI h i s e n t h u s i a s m . An d h i sp r o f e s s i o n g a v e h l i m i nr e t u r n a l l i t s h o n o u r s .H e was P r e s i d e n t o f t h eR o y a l C o l l e g e o f S u r g e o n si n I r e l a n d i n 1 8 9 4 - 6 , a n dP r e s i d e n t o f t h e R o y a l i A c a d e m y o f M e d i c i n e -

    t h e m o s t h o n o u r a b l ep r i z e o f t h e p r o f e s s i o no f m e d i c i n e i n I r e l a n d -i n 1 9 0 3 - 6 . T h e R o y a lU n i v e r s i t y g a v e ' h i m t h ed e g r e e o f M . C h . h o n o r i sc a u s a . I n 1 8 9 5 t h eh o n o u r o f k n i g h t h o o dwas c o n f e r r e d onIh i m ,a n d l a s t y e a r , t o t h eg i e a t s a t i . s f a c t i o n o f t h ew h o l e p r o f e s s i o n a n d o f h i s f e l l o w - c i t i z e n s , t h eCoronation h o n o u r sbrought him a b a r o n e t c y@ L E Y STOKER, B A t o crown a c a r e e r o fX L E : Y S T O R K E , i , B A R T . b r i l l i a n l t s ; x i r g i c a l a n dL e i e r an d S o n , D e e l i l i z . s o c i a l w o r k .But d u r i n g a l l t h o s eh a r d - w o r k i n g y e a r s i r T h o r n l e y S t o k e r w a s b y - n omeans a m a n o f o n e p u r s u i t . H e had a l w a y s b e e ni n t e r e s t e d i n a r t ; h a d l h e l d t h e h o n o u r a b l e i f n o t v e r yo n e r o u i s o f f i c e o f P r o f e s s o r o f A n a t o m y i n t h e R o y a lH i b e r n i a n Academy o f A r t ; had b e e n a u s e f u l a n de n e r g e t i c g o v e r n o r o f t h e D u b l i n N a t i o n a l G a l l e r y ; a n c dh a d b u i l t u p what w a s , f o r a p r a c t i s i n g m e d i c a l m a n a tl e a s t , a u n i q u i e c o l l e c t i o n o f o b j e c t s o f a n t i q u e a r t . O l dE n g l i s h a n d I r i s l i s i l v e r , b r o n z e s , O r i e n t a l p o r c e l a i n s ,- a n d e x q u i s i t e o l d f u r n i t u r e m a de h i s h o u s e a p l a c e o fp i l g r i m a g e f o r c o n n o i s s e u r s . H i s c i r c l e o f f r i e n d s c o r r e -s p o n d e d t o h i i s t a s t e s ; a n d i t i s s a f e t o s a y t h a t f e wa r t i s t i c o r l i t e r a r y p e r s o n s s p e n t much t i m e i n D u b l i nd u t r i n g t l l c l a s t t w e n t y y e a r s w i t h o u t g r a v i t a t i n g t o h i sb e a u t i f u L l r e s i d e n i c e , E l y H o u s e , a n d e n j o y i n g a h o s p i t a l i t ya s l a r g e - h e a r t e d a s i t w a s r e f i n e d .

    T w v o y e a r s a g l o , f e e l i n a t h a t t h e s t r a i n o f work wasb e g i n n i n g t o t e l l u p o l n h i m , h e r e s i g n e d t h e s u r g e o n e yt o t h e R i c h m o n d H o s p i t a l . I t c o s t ' h i m a b i t t e r p a n g ;s o f t e n e d b y t h e f a c t t l l a t a t t h e u n a n i m o u s w i s h o f h i s

    0 1 3 h I t u a l L i .

  • 8/13/2019 Sir William Thornley Stoker

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    T400 n s m I OBITUARY. I)UNE 1 5 , T 9 1 2 .400 M E D I C A L JOURNAJc o l l e a g u e s t h e B o a r d o f G o v e r n o r s a p p o i n t e d him t o b e t h ef i r s t C o n s u l t i n g S u r g e o n t o t h e h o s p i t a l . H e c o n t i n u e d t oa tt e n d t h e m e e t i n g s o f t h e B o a r d o f G o v e r n o r s a s s i d u o u s l y ,a n d h i s l o v e f o r t h e h o s p i t a l was a s warm a n d a c t i v e a se v e r . B u t h i s f r i e n d s were p a i n e d t o s e e t h a t h i s o wna n t i c i p a t i o n s were b u t t o o w el l j u s t i f i e d b y t h e m a n i f e s tf a i l u r i e o f h i s h e a l t h . Th e p a i n o f d e c l i n i n g o u t o f a c t i v el i f e wa s m i t i g a t e d b y t he d e v o t ed a t t e n t i o n o f a g r o u p o ff r i e n d s whose l o v e w a s t h e b e s t t e s t i m o n y t o h i s w o r t h .To him w e r e g i v e n i n a b u n d a n c e h o n o u r , l o v e , o b e d i e n c e ,t r o o p s o f f r i e n d s . R e c e n t l y h e b e g a n t o s u f f e r f r o m c a r d i a cw e a k n e s s , a s a s e q u e l t o a r t e r i o - s c l e r o s i s , a n d t h e e n d cameg r a d u a l l v , p a i n l e s s l y , a n d p e a c e f u l l y , a s s l e e p t o a c h i l d , o nt h e f i r s t d a y o f t h i s m o n t h .No e s t i m a t e o f h i s c h a r a c t e r w o u l d b e c o mp l e te w h i c hd i d n o t e m p h a s i z e two o u t s t a n d i n g p o i n t s - n a m e l y , h i sa l m o s t t o o s e n s i t i v e d e v o t i o n t o h i s p o a r h o s p i t a l p a t i e n t sa n d h i s u n u s u a l q u i c k n e s s i n a p p r e c i a t i n g a n d g e n e r o s i t y, i n e n c o u r a g i : m g m e r i t i n v o u n - a m e n . O v e r a n i o v e r a g a i a .i n e v e r y y e a r o f h i s h o s -p i t a l w o r k , had h e b e e ni n t h e w ar d s , n o t o n c e ,b u t t w i c e a n d t h r e et i m e s a d ay , m a k i n g s u r et h a t a J l wa s w e l l w i t hp a t i e n t s w h o s e o n l y r e -v a r d t o him c o u l d b e ap r a y e r . N o t t e n d a y s i nt h e y e a r , a p a r t f r o m ; c h i sm o n t h ' s v a c a t i o n , f a i l e dt o f i n d him a t w o r k i nt h e h o s p i t a l . H i s r e a d i -n e s s n o t m e r e l y t o r e c o g -n i z e , b u t t o f o r c e o u t a n db r i n g t o p u b l i c n o t i c e ,w h a t e v e r wa s g o o d o ro r i g i n a l i n h i s y o u n g e rc o l l e a g u e s , wa s t h e w o r ko f a m a n c o n s c i o u s o fh i s own s t r e n g t h , b u tc o n s c i o u s a l s o t h a t e a c ha g e m u s t l ea n n o t m e r e l yo n t h a t w h i c h p r e c e d e s ,b u t o n t h a t w h i c h f o l -l o w s i t , i f i t i s i t s e l f t ob r i n g f o r t h i t s b e s t f r u i t .He r e t a i n e d t o t h e e n da s e n s i t i v e n e s s t o a l lh i g h i d e a l s w h i c h t h er o u g h f r i c t i o n o f t h ew o r l d t o o o f t e n d u l l s i nm en o f common - m o u l d .H i s f a m i l y m o t t o , Q u i dv e r u r n atque decens( , w h a t e v e r i s t r u e a n dh o n o u r a b l e ) , f i t l y sumsu p S i r T h o r n l e y S t o k e r ' sl i f e .M r . R O B E R T H . W O O D s ,e x - P r e s i d e n t o f t h e R o y a lC o l l e g e o f S u r g e o n s , a

    f o r m e r c o l l e , a e u e o f S i rT h o r n l e y S t o k e r , h a s s e n t u s t h e f o l l ow i n g a p p r ec i a ti o no f h i s f r i e n d :I t i s d i f f i c u l t i n t h e g l o o m o f t h e s h a d o w o f d e a t h t o d e -s c r i b e i n a d e q u a t e t e r ms t he q u a l i t i e s a n d c h a r a c t e r o f t h em a n w h o s e l o s s we mourn t o - d a y . S i r T h o r n l e y S t o k e r ' sm a n y - s i d e d p e r s o n a l i t y c a n n o t b e summed u p i n a f e w w o r d s ,A n d e x c e p t t o t h o s e who knew him i n t i m a t e l y a n y a c c o u n to f i t m i g h t w e l l seem e x a g g e r a t e d . H i s w i d e s y m p a t h yw i t h a l m o s t e v e r y p h a s e o f human a c t i v i t y was s u c h a s i so n l y t o b e f o u n d among t h e m o s t r i c h l y e n d o w e d o f m e n .H e was a b o r n s u r g e o n . H i s e a r l y t r a i n i n g a s a na n a t o m i s t e q u i p p e d him f o r s u r g i c a l work o f t h e h i g h e s to r d e r ; a n d when t o t h i s was a d d e d a d e l i c a t e m u s c a l a rp e n s e , a c c u r a c y o f o b s e r v a t i o n , a h a b i t o f l o g i c a l a n dr e a s D n e d t h o u g h t , a n d t h e c o n r a g e b o r n o f s t r o n g c o n -v i c t i o n a n d a h i g h s e n s e o f d u t y , i t i s n o w o n d e r t h a t weh a d i n him o n e o f t h e f i r s t s u r g e o n s o f o u r t i m e .He wa s a n e a r n e s t s t u d e n t o f l i t e r a t u r e a n d a k e e nc r i t i c o f s t y l e . H i s p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t i n g s were f o r c e f u la n d t e r s e , w h i l e h i s p r i v a t e l e t t e r s show a m a s t e r y - o fe l e g a n t E n g l i s h . He wa s a n a c k n o w l e d g e d a u t h o r i t y o n

    q u e s t i o n s o f a r t , a n d h a d a n u n e r r i n g j u d g e m e n t - o f t h ea r t i s t i c v a l u e s o f f o r m , c o l o u r , a n d m a t e r i a l .H i s h o s p i t a l i t y wa u n s t i n t e d . I i h i s h o u s e h i s g u e s t sf o u n d t h e m s e l v e s i n a n a t m o s p h e r e o f g e n i a l i t y , c o r d i a l i t y ,a n d e a s e o f n o common o r d e r . T h i s d e l i g h t f u l e f f e c t wase n h a n c e d i n n o s ma ll d e g r e e b y t h e p r e s e n c e a n d i n f l u e n c eo f t h e r e m a r k a b l e w o m a n h e h a d m a r r i e d , w h o s e c b a r m ,a t t a i n m e n t s , a n d s t r e n g t h o f i n t e l l e c t made h e r a s c o n -s p i c u o u s among wo men a s h e wa s among men.B u t h o w e v e r o n e m ay s p e a k o f h i s p r o f e s s i o n a l e m i n e n c e ,h i s l i t e r a r y , a r t i s t i c , a n d s o c i a l p r o c l i v i t i e s , y e t when a l l i ss a i d , o n e h a s s c a r c e l y t o u c h e d t h e m a n h i m s e l f - i n t e n s e l yh u m a n , e n t i r e l y l o v a b l e , g e n i a l , s y m p a t h e t i c , a n d g r e a th e a r t e d .

    ROBERT NIGHTINGALE HARTLEY, M . B . , B . S . L O N D .I T i s a p e c u l i a r l y d i f f i c u l t a n d d e l i c a t e t a s k t o a t t e m p t t oc o n v e y i n a b r i e f s k e t c h a j u s t a n d t r u e i m p r e s s i o n o f t h es t r i k i n g p e r s o n a l i t y o ft h e l a t e R o b e r t N . H a r t -l e y , - a n d o f t h e s a d ,s t r e n u o u s m e m o r a b l e. l i f e t h a t h a s j u s t c l o s e d ;b u t i t i s a l i f e t h a t o u g l i tt o h a v e i t s r e c . o r d l h e r e ,. f o r b e . w a s r e g a r d e d w i t hg r e a t s y m p a t h y a n d . w i t h. d e e p r e s p e c t a n d a f f e c -t i o n b y a l a r g e c i r c l e o ff r i e n d s , p a t i e n t s , a n d: s t u d e n t s , a n d t h e w o r l di s b e t t e r b e c a u s e h e l i v e d .H e wa s b o r n a t Y o r k- i n 1 8 5 4 , a n d was s o n o ft h e R e v . J o h n H a r t l e y ,a f t e r w a r d s P r i n c i p a l o ft h e H a n d s w o r t l h W e s .l e y a n C o l l e g e a t B i r -m i n g h a m . V a r i o u s mem-* b e r s o f t h i s f a m i l y h a v e, r e n d e r e d e m i n e n t p u b l i cs e r v i c e i n C h u r c h l a n dS t a t e , a m o n g s t them t h c

    . e l d e s t s o n , t h e l a t e J o l i nA n d e r s o n H a r t l e y , V i c e -C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e A d e -l a i d e U n i v e r s i t y , a n d. I n s p e c t o r - G e n e r a l o fS c h o o l s i n S o u t h A u s -t r a l i a , w h o s e name i ss t i l l a h o u s e h o l d w o r di n t h a t p r o v i n c e . R o b e r tN . H a r t l e y wa s e d u c a t e da t W o o d h o u s e . . G r o v eS c h o o l , n e a r L e e d s , a n da t t h e L e e d s S c h o o l o fM e d i c i n e , b e i n g a l s op u p i l t o D r . ThomasD o b s o n , who l i v e d t o b et h e p a t r i a r c h o f m e d i c i n ei n L e e d s . . H a r t l e y a l s os t u d 1 i a e d f o r a- . t i s . 4 .K i n g ' s C o l l e g e u n d e r L i s t e r , a n d a t M o o r f i e l d s O p h t h a l m i cH o s p i t a l u n d e r Bowman. A b o u t 1 8 7 5 - 6 h e wa s R e s i d e n tH o u s e - S u r g e o n i n t h e L e e d s I n f i r m a r y - a p o s t w h i c h a tt h a t t i m e c o u l d b e h e l d b e f o r e q u a l i f i c a t i o n . I t . w a s . a tt h i s t i m e t h a t t h e c a t a s t r o p h e h a p p e n e d w h i c h o v e r -s h a d o w e d h i s w h o l e a f t e r - l i f e . . : O n e n i g h t , when r e t u r n i n gt o t h e i n f i r m a r y f r o m a v i s i t t o a m e d i c a l f r i e n d , h e wasd e c o y e d i n t o a d a r k s t r e e t , a s s a u l t e d , a n d r o b b e d o f w a t c ha n d p u r s e . He b e l i e v e d h e was s t r u c k w i t h a s t i c k . H ewa s b r o u g h t u n c o n s c i o u s t o t h e i n f i r m a r y , when h i i s e m p t yp o c k e t s , t h e c o n d i t i o n o f h i s c l o t h i n g , a n d a r e n t t h r o u g lh i s h a t q u i t e b o r e o u t t h e a b o v e s t a t e m e n t . He wa s i l lf o r s e v e r a l d a y s w i t h s y m p t o m s o f c o n c u s s i o n , a n d a f t e rr e c o v e r y wa s a d v i s e d t o g i v e u p s t u d y f o r a l o n g t i m e .H e n e g l e c t e d t h i s a d v i c e , a n d p r o c e e d e d t o t a k e h i s d e g r e e .A f t e r t h i s t i m e h e b e g a n t o s u f f e r f r o m e p i l e p t i c a t t a c k s . A tf i r s t t h e a t t a c k s w e r e s l i g h t a n d a t l o n g i n t e r v a l s , a n d a s t h e

    c o n d i t i o n wa s t r a u m a t i c i t w a s h o p e d t h a t h e w o u l d - g r o wo u t o f t h e m . He u s e d t o p o i n t t o a p a i n f u l a r e a o n t h e f o r e -h e a d a n d s a y t h a t t h e m i s c h i e f wa s t h e r e , a n d * o u l d e v e nt a l k o f b e i n g t r e p h i n e d , b u t t h i s wa s n e v e r r a a r i e d o u t .

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    ROBERT NIGHTINGALE HARTLEY.p h o t o g i a A h . y [ J a i h e s B a c o n z a n 2 d 2 S o n 8 , L eed s .