Complex sentence: In 1879 he had passed the examinations for the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and he worked as a ship's surgeon on a transatlantic steamship while studying for the licenciate of the Society of Apothecaries.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1879 he passed the examinations for the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He worked as a ship surgeon on a transatlantic steamship while studying for the licenciate of the Society of Apothecaries.