Charles Brooke (surgeon)
Encyclopedia
Charles Brooke FRS was an English surgeon and inventor.
, was born 30 June 1804. His early education was carried on at Chiswick, under Dr. Turner. After this he was entered at Rugby School
in 1819 and St John's College, Cambridge
, where he remained five years. He was twenty-third wrangler and B.A. 1827, B.M. 1828, and M.A. in 1853. During a part of this period he studied medicine, and his professional education was completed at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. He passed the Royal College of Surgeons examination on 3 Sept. 1834, and became a fellow of that institution 26 Aug. 1844. He lectured for one or two sessions on surgery at Dermott's School, and afterwards held positions on the surgical staff of the Metropolitan Free Hospital and the Westminster Hospital
, which latter appointment he resigned in 1869.
He is known as the inventor of the bead suture, which was a great step in advance in the scientific treatment of deep wounds. On 4 March 1847 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He belonged to the Royal Meteorological Society
(president 1865-1866) and the Royal Microscopical Society
. He also at various times served on the management of the Royal Institution
and on the council of the Royal Botanical Society. In addition to these he was connected with many philanthropic and religious societies, and was a very active member of the Victoria Institute
and Christian Medical Association.
Brooke also studied the theory of the microscope, and was the author of some inventions which facilitated the shifting of lenses, and improved the illumination of the bodies observed. He applied his improved methods to the investigation of some of the best known test-objects of the microscope. His name is, however, most popularly known by means of the Elements of Natural Philosophy, originally compiled by Dr. Golding Bird
in 1839, who alone brought out the second and third editions. After his death in 1854, Brooke edited a fourth edition, revised and greatly enlarged, followed by a fifth in 1860. In 1867 he entirely rewrote the work for the sixth edition.
for the automatic registration of their measurements by using a coal gas
light-source, mirrors and optics to amplify readings and a clockwork drum covered in photographic paper to record the results. These instruments included barometer
s, thermometer
s, psychrometers, and magnetometer
s, which registered their variations by means of photography
. Charles Brooke's inventions obtained the premium offered by the British Government, as well as a council medal from the jurors of the Great Exhibition. The account of the perfecting of these apparatus will be found detailed in the British Association Reports from 1846 to 1849, and in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
of 1847, 1850, and 1852. These self-recording instruments were adopted at the Royal Observatories of Kew
and Greenwich, Paris, and other meteorological stations around the world. In 1859 a self-recording magnetometer of United States
manufacture, based on the designed of Charles Brooke, was built by the Coast Survey and the Smithsonian Institution
at a magnetic observatory on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington DC. The Smithsonian report also noted that the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory
had a self-registering magnetograph in 1850, which was described by General John Henry Lefroy
, in Silliman's Journal, May, 1850. While several observatories had these devices, none were in continuous operation until January 1858, when the self-recording magnetographs at the Kew Observatory
became fully operational. The instrument at Kew was a set of three separate devices comprising a Declination Magnetograph, a Horizontal-force Magnetograph and a Vertical-force Magnetograph.
What made the Kew Observatory
instruments unique in 1858 is not that the observatory had self-recording magnetographs; other observatories had them; but that the observatory staff had built an infrastructure to support the continuous operation of the instruments. They had to build the instruments, provide spare parts, manufacture their own photographic paper
, devise ways to regulate the coal gas
flow which was the source of illumination, replace the photographic paper
every 24 hours, develop the photographs and maintain rigorous quality control
. In 1858 you did everything yourself or it did not work. That is the real reason for the success of the Kew Observatory
self-recording magnetographs.
On August 28, 1859 and again on September 2, 1859 the self-recording magnetometers at the Kew Observatory
in London
, supervised by Balfour Stewart
, recorded two of the largest terrestrial magnetic storms
known to Science. These events are now known as the Stewart Super Flare and the Carrington Super Flare, the latter in honor of Richard Christopher Carrington
who had the good fortune to observe the solar flare
which occurred on September 1, 1859, with the magnetic storm
reaching the Earth
on September 2, 1859.
Surgical career
Brooke, son of the well-known mineralogist, Henry James BrookeHenry James Brooke
Henry James Brooke , was an English crystallographer.Brooke was the son of a broadcloth manufacturer, born in Exeter on 25 May 1771, studied for the bar, but went into business in the Spanish wool trade, South American mining companies, and the London Life Assurance Association successively. He...
, was born 30 June 1804. His early education was carried on at Chiswick, under Dr. Turner. After this he was entered at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
in 1819 and St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, where he remained five years. He was twenty-third wrangler and B.A. 1827, B.M. 1828, and M.A. in 1853. During a part of this period he studied medicine, and his professional education was completed at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. He passed the Royal College of Surgeons examination on 3 Sept. 1834, and became a fellow of that institution 26 Aug. 1844. He lectured for one or two sessions on surgery at Dermott's School, and afterwards held positions on the surgical staff of the Metropolitan Free Hospital and the Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded....
, which latter appointment he resigned in 1869.
He is known as the inventor of the bead suture, which was a great step in advance in the scientific treatment of deep wounds. On 4 March 1847 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He belonged to the Royal Meteorological Society
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to 3 April 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general...
(president 1865-1866) and the Royal Microscopical Society
Royal Microscopical Society
The Royal Microscopical Society is an international scientific society for the promotion of microscopy. RMS draws members from all over the world and is dedicated to advancing science, developing careers and supporting wider understanding of science and microscopy through its Science and Society...
. He also at various times served on the management of the Royal Institution
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...
and on the council of the Royal Botanical Society. In addition to these he was connected with many philanthropic and religious societies, and was a very active member of the Victoria Institute
Victoria Institute
The Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of Great Britain, was founded in 1865, as a response to the publication of On the Origin of Species and Essays and Reviews. Its stated objective was to defend "the great truths revealed in Holy Scripture .....
and Christian Medical Association.
Inventions
His public papers and lectures generally pertained to the department of physics, mathematical and experimental, and his more special work was the inventing or perfecting of apparatus. His papers ‘Motion of Sound in Space; but the work upon which his reputation mainly rests was published between 1846 and 1852. This was the invention of those self-recording instrumentsOn the Automatic Registration of Magnetometers, and Meteorological Instruments, by Photography. No. IV, Charles Brooke, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 142, (1852), pp. 19-24 which have been adopted at the Royal Observatories of Greenwich, Paris, and other meteorological stations. They consisted of barometers, thermometers, psychrometers, and magnetometers, which registered their variations by means of photography. His method obtained the premium offered by the government, as well as a council medal from the jurors of the Great Exhibition. The account of the perfecting of these apparatus will be found detailed in the British Association Reports from 1846 to 1849, and in the Philosophical Transactions of 1847, 1850, and 1852.Brooke also studied the theory of the microscope, and was the author of some inventions which facilitated the shifting of lenses, and improved the illumination of the bodies observed. He applied his improved methods to the investigation of some of the best known test-objects of the microscope. His name is, however, most popularly known by means of the Elements of Natural Philosophy, originally compiled by Dr. Golding Bird
Golding Bird
Golding Bird was a British medical doctor and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London. Bird became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits...
in 1839, who alone brought out the second and third editions. After his death in 1854, Brooke edited a fourth edition, revised and greatly enlarged, followed by a fifth in 1860. In 1867 he entirely rewrote the work for the sixth edition.
Death
He died at Weymouth, 17 May 1879, and his widow died at 3 Gordon Square, London, 12 Feb. 1885, aged 86.Automatic registration of instruments by photography
Between 1846 and1852 Charles Brooke invented a series of self-recording instruments which used photographyPhotography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
for the automatic registration of their measurements by using a coal gas
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
light-source, mirrors and optics to amplify readings and a clockwork drum covered in photographic paper to record the results. These instruments included barometer
Barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
s, thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
s, psychrometers, and magnetometer
Magnetometer
A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of a magnetic field either produced in the laboratory or existing in nature...
s, which registered their variations by means of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. Charles Brooke's inventions obtained the premium offered by the British Government, as well as a council medal from the jurors of the Great Exhibition. The account of the perfecting of these apparatus will be found detailed in the British Association Reports from 1846 to 1849, and in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
of 1847, 1850, and 1852. These self-recording instruments were adopted at the Royal Observatories of Kew
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
and Greenwich, Paris, and other meteorological stations around the world. In 1859 a self-recording magnetometer of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
manufacture, based on the designed of Charles Brooke, was built by the Coast Survey and the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
at a magnetic observatory on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington DC. The Smithsonian report also noted that the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory
Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory
The Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory is a historical observatory located on the grounds of the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original building was constructed in 1840 as part of a worldwide research project run by Edward Sabine to determine the cause of...
had a self-registering magnetograph in 1850, which was described by General John Henry Lefroy
John Henry Lefroy
Sir John Henry Lefroy, KCMG, CB, FRS, was a British military man and later colonial administrator who also distinguished himself with his scientific studies of the Earth's magnetism.- Biography :...
, in Silliman's Journal, May, 1850. While several observatories had these devices, none were in continuous operation until January 1858, when the self-recording magnetographs at the Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
became fully operational. The instrument at Kew was a set of three separate devices comprising a Declination Magnetograph, a Horizontal-force Magnetograph and a Vertical-force Magnetograph.
What made the Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
instruments unique in 1858 is not that the observatory had self-recording magnetographs; other observatories had them; but that the observatory staff had built an infrastructure to support the continuous operation of the instruments. They had to build the instruments, provide spare parts, manufacture their own photographic paper
Photographic paper
Photographic paper is paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals, used for making photographic prints.Photographic paper is exposed to light in a controlled manner, either by placing a negative in contact with the paper directly to produce a contact print, by using an enlarger in order to create a...
, devise ways to regulate the coal gas
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
flow which was the source of illumination, replace the photographic paper
Photographic paper
Photographic paper is paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals, used for making photographic prints.Photographic paper is exposed to light in a controlled manner, either by placing a negative in contact with the paper directly to produce a contact print, by using an enlarger in order to create a...
every 24 hours, develop the photographs and maintain rigorous quality control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
. In 1858 you did everything yourself or it did not work. That is the real reason for the success of the Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
self-recording magnetographs.
On August 28, 1859 and again on September 2, 1859 the self-recording magnetometers at the Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, supervised by Balfour Stewart
Balfour Stewart
Balfour Stewart was a Scottish physicist. His studies in the field of radiant heat led to him receiving the Rumford Medal of the Royal Society in 1868. In 1859 he was appointed director of Kew Observatory...
, recorded two of the largest terrestrial magnetic storms
Magnetic storm
Magnetic storm can refer to:* A geomagnetic storm* Magnetic Storm , the title of a book of paintings by Roger Dean* Magnetic Storm , the title of an hourlong PBS NOVA documentary about Earth's changing magnetic fields...
known to Science. These events are now known as the Stewart Super Flare and the Carrington Super Flare, the latter in honor of Richard Christopher Carrington
Richard Christopher Carrington
Richard Christopher Carrington was an English amateur astronomer whose 1859 astronomical observations demonstrated the existence of solar flares as well as suggesting their electrical influence upon the Earth and its aurorae; and whose 1863 records of sunspot observations revealed the differential...
who had the good fortune to observe the solar flare
Solar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
which occurred on September 1, 1859, with the magnetic storm
Magnetic storm
Magnetic storm can refer to:* A geomagnetic storm* Magnetic Storm , the title of a book of paintings by Roger Dean* Magnetic Storm , the title of an hourlong PBS NOVA documentary about Earth's changing magnetic fields...
reaching the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
on September 2, 1859.
Published works
- Elements of Natural Philosophy, editor of the fourth edition (1854) and fifth edition (1860), rewrote entirely for the sixth edition (1867)
- The Evidence afforded by the Order and Adaptations in Nature to the Existence of a God. A Christian Evidence lecture, 1872, which was three times printed,
- A Synopsis of the Principal Formulæ and Results of Pure Mathematics, 1829.
- Books by Charles Brooke available in the Internet Archive
- Books by Charles Brooke available in Google Books
- Papers by Charles Brooke available in Google Scholar