The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-23 00:00:00

DEATH OF SIR BENJAIIII

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In modern times it is not posei 4;PAX4r
name any one who has more powerfu
to the improvenent of medical science inky of its S
branches, or who I(.' as more assiduously exerted him-
self to acquire scientific and profession al informa-
tion, and ungrudgingi7 to disseminate ..that know-
ledge, than the illustrions surgeon who.'e decease
took place at an early hour on Tuesday morning at
his residence Broome-park, liatchworth, Surrey.
Certainly no member of the proftosion had reached
so high a position, or maintained that distinction
for so long a period as the late Prosident of the
Royal Society,—for Sir Benjamin Bro(Ne war; the
first surgeon upon whom this honour had been con-

ferred.
The subject of this short and imperfect notice' scas,
the third son of the Rev. P. B. Brodie, P.ector of
Winteralow, an inflacntia: rra:;i3Vrete end deputy-
lieutenant ,of South -Wilts, and ot Sasah, da-4;littr
of Benjamin R3q., ar
bury, in whicl,citY brothei, of t.::e deateeti, the
well-known banker and late Parliamentary re,p2s-'7
sentative, now resides. Sir Bc;iljainin was born on.
thu 9th of June, 1783, and consequently at the tinrn
of his decease was in his 80th year. After acquir--=
ing a sound preliminary education under the pa-
ternal roof. to" widen he often said he as maiely
indebted for the success he has since met with, he
was placed 'under the care of Messrs. Wilson and.
Thomas. These distinguishOsurgeons (the latter
of whom .became President of the Royal College of
Surgeons) were at that time engaged in teaching•
anatomy at the Hunterian School in
miil-street (now a printing-office.)
Wheinbde:
came the pupil of Sir E. Home,
at St. George's
Hospital, where he was observed as a most industri-
ous, hard-working student, and, as a result of this ap-
plication, was enabled to pass his examinations; and
become a member of the College on the 18th October,
1805 ; immediately after which he began to assist
Mr. Wilson as Demonstrator of Anatomy, and
continued in this office until 1809, when he
was associated -with his former master as lecturer
on this subject. In 1808, when only 25 years of
age, he was appointed assistant-surgeon to St.
George's Hospital, and had the principal charge of
Sir Everard Home's patients in that institution, as
well as for some years those of Mr. Gunning, then
absent with the Duke of Wellington's army in
Spain. In 1810 he was elected Croonian Lecturer
to the Royal Society, the subject of his discourse
being " The Influence of the Brain in the Genera-
tion of Animal Heat." He continued his inquiries,
and laid before the society an elaborate paper on the
subject, and was rewarded with the Fellowship, and
in the following year received the Copley prize from
the same learned society.
It was not until 1822—an unusually long period
to have acted as assistant—that Sir Benjamin was
elected full surgeon, and six months later made his
debut as lecturer on surgery, and continued to give
a regular course to a large class until 1830, when
his increasing practice compelled him to relinquish
all but clinical lectures. As a lecturer he was plain
and easy in his delivery—acute, and always to the
point ; not a sentence could be spared, for every
sentence had its value ; to lose it was to lose the
thread of his diseourse, to break the connected series
of argument or detail of facts upon which his opi-
nions were legitimately based. In 1819 he was
honoured with the appointment of Professor of
Anatomy and Surgery to the Royal College of Sur-
geons, and held this office until 1823. In 1832 he
was appointed Sergeant-Surgeon to William IV.,
by whom he was made a baronet, the patent bear-
ing date August 21, 1834, and on the accession of
her Majesty she was pleased to retain him in the same
office. From his own college he received all the hon-
ours that institution has it in its power to bestow on
those members who have upheld the honour, dignity,
and welfare of the profession, having been elected
professor, a member of the council, of the court
of examiners, Hunterian orator, and, finally, in
1844, president. The Sun of the 9th of May
last records the regrets of his colleagues at re-
ceiving his resignation of all collegiate appoint-
ments. He had previously retired from the posi-
tion of President of the Royal Society, owing
to increasing bodily infirmities (his mental faculties
remaining unimpaired), and for a few weeks preced-
ing his death had suff-red actually from some dis-
ease of the shoulder joint. Sir Benjamin Brodie
had contributed largely to the advancement of medi-
cal and chirurgical knowledge. and was a member
of most of the learned and scientific societies both at
home and abroad. He leaves a widow and two
sons, one of whom, who succeeds to the title, has
greatly distinguished himself ss an accomplished
chemist.

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