| Description Of Item | Oil on canvas, 101.5 x 76.2 cm
Born in Yorkshire, Thomas Laycock (1812–1876) served as an apprentice to a surgeon, following which he followed a medical course at University College, London. He obtained an MRCS in 1835; further study followed in Paris and Gottingen where he graduated with an MD with commendation in 1839. From general practice in York he was appointed Lecturer on the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the York Medical School. When Dr William Pulteney Alison retired from the Edinburgh Chair of Practice of Physic in 1855, Dr Laycock was chosen from a list of eight applicants to be his successor, the first Englishman to reach professorial status in the Edinburgh Medical School.
As professor of medicine Laycock, through his publications, did much to enhance the reputation of the Edinburgh School; he was recognised as the greatest authority in English, French and German medical literature. He was a pioneer in psychological medicine and the study of mental diseases.
Artist: Charles Martin (attributed to) |