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Thomas Morton (surgeon)

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Thomas Morton, portrait by his brother Andrew

Thomas Morton (1813–1849) was an English surgeon.

Life

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Born 20 March 1813 in the parish of St. Andrew, Newcastle upon Tyne, he was the youngest son of Joseph Morton, a master mariner, and brother of Andrew Morton the portrait painter. He was apprenticed to James Church, house-surgeon to the Newcastle Infirmary, and then in 1832 became a medical student at University College, London.[1]

Admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 24 July 1835, Morton was appointed house-surgeon at the North London Hospital under Samuel Cooper, unusually being reappointed when after one year of office. In 1836 he was made demonstrator of anatomy jointly with Mr. Ellis, a post he held for nine years. In 1842 he became assistant surgeon to the hospital, the first student of the college to join the staff.[1]

In 1848 Morton was appointed full surgeon to the hospital on the resignation of James Syme. He was also surgeon to the Queen's Bench prison in succession to Cooper, his father-in-law. He was a candidate for the professorship of surgery at University College when James Arnott was appointed.[1]

Morton committed suicide on 29 October 1849, at his house in Woburn Place, London.[1]

Works

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"A dissection of the groin, showing the fascia, blood-vessels", illustration to The Surgical Anatomy of the Groin (1839) by Thomas Morton and William Cadge
Grave of Thomas Morton in Highgate Cemetery

Morton's works were:[1]

  • Surgical Anatomy of the Perinseum, London, 1838.
  • Surgical Anatomy of the Groin, London, 1839.
  • Surgical Anatomy of Inguinal Herniæ, London, 1841.
  • Anatomical Engravings, London, 1845.
  • Surgical Anatomy, with William Cadge, London, 1850.

They were illustrated by his brother Andrew Morton,[1] and lithographed by William Fairland.[2]

Family

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Morton married Mary Ann, the only daughter of Samuel Cooper, the author of the Surgical Dictionary,[1] and they had one daughter.[3]

He is buried with his brother Andrew on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Morton, Thomas (1813-1849)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  2. ^ "Morton, Thomas - Biographical entry - Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online". Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  3. ^ Cansick, Frederick Teague (1872). The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol 2. J Russell Smith. p. 18. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainLee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Morton, Thomas (1813-1849)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co.