Henry Hamilton Bailey

Hamilton Bailey
Born Henry Hamilton Bailey
1st October 1894
Bishopstoke, Hampshire
Died 25th March 1961 aged 66
Malaga, Spain
Cause of death Colonic carcinoma (intestinal obstruction)
Nationality British
Occupation Surgeon
Known for Surgical textbooks

Medical career

Institutions London Hospital, Dudley Road, Birmingham, Royal Northern Hospital, London

Henry Hamilton Bailey (1 October 1894 - 25 March 1961)[1] was a British surgeon. Bailey became one of the most influential authors of surgical textbooks in the 20th century; when publishing, and perhaps for much of his working life, he dropped his first name, becoming Hamilton Bailey. He was a pioneer in the use of illustrations and photographs in surgical textbooks.[2]

Life

Hamilton was born to a medical missionary. He had a brother who died aged two days after birth,[3] and a sister who was institutionalized with schizophrenia at the age of 18.[4]

As a 4th year medical student in 1914, he volunteered as part of the 1st Belgian Unit of the British Red Cross.[3] In the same year, he was captured and made a prisoner of war. As a prisoner of war he was sentenced to death for suspected sabotage, but following an American intervention was released by the Germans along with other medical and nursing staff. He subsequently (25 August 1916)[5] became a temporary surgeon with the Royal Navy, serving on the HMS Inflexible and HMS M19[6] and HMS Iron Duke.[3]

After the war, while working as a surgical registrar, he suffered an infection following a finger injury while performing surgery, eventually leading to amputation of his left index finger; this can be seen in the illustrations of some of his books (his Figure 137[7] showing Bimanual palpation of the spleen gives a clear orientation). His first independent post was as a surgeon to Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham in 1926), where many of the photos that would illustrate his first book taken. He left in 1930, soon joining the staff of the Royal Northern Hospital, London. He was also a Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and a vice-president of the International College of Surgeons.[8]

He married a photographer, Vera Gillender, in 1925, who collaborated with him in the production of photographs for his books. Hamilton and Vera had one son, who died aged 15 in a railway accident [3] while returning from evacuation in the north of England.

Hamilton was incarcerated for three years in 1949 for a mental condition involving mania and paranoia, which was eventually successfully treated with lithium therapy.

He died of intestinal obstruction (or subsequent surgical complications) secondary to colonic carcinoma, on 25 March 1961 in Malaga.

Selected publications

External links

References

  1. "Who's who Men and Women of the Time - 1935". Who’s who 1935. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  2. "Biographical Entry: Bailey, Henry Hamilton (1894 - 1961)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 McN., L. (1965). "HAMILTON BAILEY, (1894-1961).". British Journal of Surgery 52 (4): 241–5. doi:10.1002/bjs.1800520403. PMID 14271082.
  4. "Sue Young Histories". Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  5. Navy List January 1919 - Volume 1: (Corrected to 18th December 1918). H.M. Stationary Office. 1919. p. 470. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  6. Martson, Adrian (1999). Hamilton Bailey : a surgeon's life. London: Greenwich Medical Media. ISBN 1841100242.
  7. 1 2 Bailey, Hamilton (1927). Demonstrations of physical signs in clinical surgery (1st ed.). Bristol: J. Wright and Sons, Ltd. p. 217.
  8. 1 2 "Hamilton BAILEY". British Medical Journal 8 (1(5231)): 1043–4. 1961. PMID 14447877.
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