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Case 1- History

THE HISTORY OF KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL

Established in 1829, King's College London officially opened its doors to students in 1831 with a medical department but no attached teaching hospital. As it was necessary for medical students to gain practical experience in a hospital environment, it soon became apparent from the dwindling number of medical students at King's College that a hospital was needed.

The first King's College Hospital was in Portugal Street, just north of the Strand Campus and near to the Royal College of Surgeons. At this time, the hospital was situated in an area of insanitary and overcrowded housing. Such was the need for a hospital in this environment that it soon became necessary to expand the facilities. Reconstruction of the original building began in 1852. This proved to be a by no means easy feat, as the hospital remained open to patients during this building phase. This second King's College Hospital was officially opened in 1861 and boasted the very latest in hospital architecture.

Towards the end of the 19th century, slum clearance began in earnest and the houses that surrounded the second King's College Hospital were removed to make way for the office blocks which we see standing today. As patients now hailed from some distance, it seemed prudent to move King's College Hospital, with the population, into the suburbs of London. The third and final King's College Hospital was opened south of the river in Denmark Hill in 1913.

ROBERT BENTLEY TODD (1809-1860)

Todd was born in 1809 to a well-known Dublin surgeon, Charles Hawkes Todd. He completed his medical education in 1831 and came to London in the same year. In 1836 he was appointed to the Chair of Physiology and Morbid Anatomy at King's College London at the young age of 27. Although he was gifted academically, he is mostly remembered today for his talents of administration and organisation. It was Todd who persuaded the Council of King's College to purchase a disused workhouse in Portugal Street and to turn it into the first King's College Hospital.

Title page of: Thomas Burnet. Thesaurus medicinae practicae. Venice: Hieronymus Savioni, 1733. KCSMD Historical Collection R121.BUR

Thomas Burnet. Thesaurus medicinae practicae. Venice: Hieronymus Savioni, 1733. KCSMD Historical Collection R121.BUR

This work is a medical encyclopaedia describing the symptoms of diseases and their associated remedies. It comes from the personal library of Robert Bentley Todd and was donated to King's College on Todd's death by his widow. The title page is inscribed with Todd's signature as well as that of his father, Charles Hawkes Todd, a surgeon in Dublin.

This book has recently been conserved by funds made available from the Research Resources in Medical History programme. This has entailed the cleaning and repair of papers and rebinding in quarter calf.

Illustration from: The cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology vol. 1, edited by Robert Bentley Todd. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, 1836-1859. KCSMD Historical Collection QL7.TOD

The cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology vol. 1, edited by Robert Bentley Todd. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, 1836-1859. KCSMD Historical Collection QL7.TOD

This work was a standard reference work in the subject of anatomy and physiology in the nineteenth century and is an example of Todd's often forgotten academic achievements.

JOSEPH LISTER (1827-1912)

Joseph Lister was born in Essex in 1827 to the British physicist, Joseph Jackson Lister. Lister completed his medical education at University College London where he graduated with honours in 1852. In 1861 he was appointed Surgeon to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and it was here that he began his experimental work with antisepsis. At this time, post-operative sepsis infection accounted for the death of almost half of all patients undergoing major surgery. Lister concluded that wound sepsis was a form of decomposition caused by living organisms in the air entering the wound. He had heard of experiments with carbolic acid which successfully freed cattle of a parasite-spreading disease and decided to emulate similar practices in the cleaning and dressing of wounds. Although Lister's methods were rapidly adopted he faced great opposition to his "germ theory". Realising the need to convince London, he accepted in 1877 the post of chair of Clinical Surgery at King's College London. At King's Lister was able to perfect his work in the field of antiseptic surgery and in 1881 his theories were finally acknowledged with the discovery of bacteria. He retired from King's College in 1893 and died in 1912.

Title page of: Sampson Gamgee. Researches in pathological anatomy and clinical surgery. London: Baillière, 1856 with inscription from the author to Joseph Lister. KCSMD Historical Collection RB24.GAM

Sampson Gamgee. Researches in pathological anatomy and clinical surgery. London: Baillière, 1856. KCSMD Historical Collection RB24.GAM

This book is inscribed by Sampson Gamgee (1828-1886) to Joseph Lister. Sampson Gamgee was a well-known surgeon in his time and invented cotton wool. It is believed that Gamgee's cotton wool served as inspiration to J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) who named one of his hobbits Sam Gamgee in Lord of the Rings.

Copy of Charles Grey. The early years of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort 5th ed. London: Smith, Elder, 1856, presented by Queen Victoria to King's College Hospital and signed by her. KCSMD Historical Collection DA559.A1GRE

Charles Grey. The early years of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort. 5th ed. London: Smith, Elder, 1856. KCSMD Historical Collection DA559.A1GRE

This work was given to the Victoria and Albert Wards of the second King's College Hospital by Queen Victoria and has been personally inscribed by her. Queen Victoria showed an interest in King's College Hospital from its start and was its first patron. In 1841, when the hospital went through financial hardships, Queen Victoria was the first to respond with a donation to a special appeal for funds.

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