| Description Of Item | Oil on canvas, 78.7 x 63.5 cm
Born in London and educated in Exeter, John Hughes Bennett (1812–1875) commenced the study of medicine in Edinburgh in 1833. He obtained an MD with a gold medal in 1837.
He was a leading member of the Royal Medical Society. He regarded the Society as a most valuable adjunct to medical education and culture in Scotland. After graduation he proceeded to Paris where he studied and founded the Parisian Medical Society. He became interested in teaching and research and within five years of graduation he had been elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Physician to the Royal Public Dispensary, and Pathologist to the Royal Infirmary. In 1848 he was appointed to the Chair of Physiology at Edinburgh. He strongly opposed the practice of blood-letting in inflammatory conditions and in 1865 published an article on 'The Restorative Treatment of Pneumonia', which led to the abandonment of bleeding as routine practice.
Artist: Henry Wright Kerr |