George Britton Halford
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born anatomist
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
and physiologist
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, founder of the first medical school in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
School of Medicine
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
-General:The of the University of Melbourne is the University’s largest and most diverse faculty, consisting of 52 schools, departments and centres....
.
Background
Halford was born in PetworthPetworth
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England, second son of James Halford, a merchant of Haverstock Hill, and his wife Nancy, née Gadd. Halford began studying medicine in 1842, became a member of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
in 1851, and of the Royal College of Surgeons
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
in 1852. He obtained his doctorate of medicine at University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
in 1854. After practising at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, he was in 1857 appointed lecturer in anatomy at the Grosvenor Place school of medicine, 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...
. When applications were called for the professorship of anatomy, physiology and pathology at the University of Melbourne in 1862, he was described as "one of the most distinguished experimental physiologists of the day". There were other good candidates, but Halford was appointed, and he arrived in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 22 December 1862. A medical curriculum had been drawn up by the council for which the vice-chancellor, Dr Anthony Brownless, was largely responsible. This course was longer by a year than any systematic course of medical education then existing in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
or Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Thirty years passed before the general medical council implied on a minimum five year course in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Studies
Halford began teaching with only three students which in the next 15 years increased to about 70. His task indeed was only made possible by the comparatively small classes in those early years. He was offered the fellowship of the Royal College of PhysiciansRoyal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
in 1870 but never actually went in. He had in the meantime done some research work in comparative anatomy, and had begun his work on the poison of snakes which he continued for many years. As Halford neared 60 years, he began to feel the strain of his combined offices, but the appointment of a brilliant young assistant, Harry Brookes Allen
Harry Brookes Allen
Sir Harry Brookes Allen was a noted Australian pathologist.-Education:Harry Brookes Allen was born at Geelong, Victoria, the son of Thomas Watts Allen. He was educated at Flinders School, Geelong, and in 1869–70 at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School...
, who became lecturer in anatomy and pathology in 1882, must have made his position easier. Allen became professor of descriptive and surgical anatomy and pathology in 1883, and Halford took the title of professor of general anatomy, physiology and histology. Though easing down in his work to some extent, he was still a great influence with the students. Sir Richard Stawell
Richard Rawdon Stawell
Sir Richard Rawdon Stawell KBE, was an Australian doctor, president of Victorian branch of the British Medical Association.-Early life:...
, who graduated in 1898, has testified that "there was something always really 'great' about the old professor; and when he discussed with us the records of his original work of long ago, there was to be got from his lectures something splendid and even inspiring" (address at the Masonic Hall, 1 May 1914). In September 1896 Halford was given leave of absence on account of ill-health until the end of 1897. This leave was afterwards extended and he did not become emeritus professor until 1900. After his retirement he lived at Beaconsfield near Melbourne and was much interested in the development of coal-mining in South Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
. He celebrated his golden wedding in 1907 and died at Inverloch, Victoria
Inverloch, Victoria
Inverloch is a seaside village in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Bass Highway 143 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, at the mouth of Anderson Inlet, in the Bass Coast Shire and is located close to Australia’s southernmost stand of mangroves...
, on 27 May 1910. He was survived by three daughters and six sons, two of whom entered the medical profession. In 1928 his family founded the Halford Oration at the Australian Institute of Anatomy, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. A list of Halford's contributions to medical literature can be found in the Medical Journal of Australia for 19 January 1929, page 71.
See also
- Royal College of PhysiciansRoyal College of PhysiciansThe Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...