Thomas Horder, 1st Baron Horder
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jeeves Horder, 1st Baron Horder, GCVO (January 7, 1871 – August 13, 1955) was an English physician recognized as a leading clinician and diagnostician of his day.
, Dorset
. Jeeves was his mother's maiden name. He was educated privately, and at the University of London
and St Bartholomew's Hospital
, London.
and, when still quite young, successfully made a difficult diagnosis on King Edward VII which made his reputation. His patients were to include every British monarch except Edward VIII from Edward VII to Elizabeth II. They also included two prime ministers, Ramsay MacDonald
and Bonar Law and labour leader Hugh Gaitskell
.
He was involved in many official committees including advising the Ministry of Food during World War II
. After the war he opposed many of Aneurin Bevan
's plans for a national health service and may have helped get some of those less palatable to the medical profession modified.
He also held the positions of Deputy Lieutenant County of Hampshire; Extra Physician to the Queen
(formerly Extra Physician to King George VI); and Consulting Physician to St Bartholomew's Hospital (1912–1936). He was created Baron Horder on 23 January 1933.
Horder served as president of the Cremation Society of Great Britain
from 1940 to his death in 1955.
near Petersfield, Hampshire
where he died on August 13, 1955.
Early life and education
Thomas Jeeves Horder was born January 7, 1871, the son of draper Albert Horder, in ShaftesburyShaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Jeeves was his mother's maiden name. He was educated privately, and at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
, London.
Career
Horder began his career at St Bartholomew's HospitalSt Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
and, when still quite young, successfully made a difficult diagnosis on King Edward VII which made his reputation. His patients were to include every British monarch except Edward VIII from Edward VII to Elizabeth II. They also included two prime ministers, Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
and Bonar Law and labour leader Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
.
He was involved in many official committees including advising the Ministry of Food during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war he opposed many of Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
's plans for a national health service and may have helped get some of those less palatable to the medical profession modified.
He also held the positions of Deputy Lieutenant County of Hampshire; Extra Physician to the Queen
Physician to the Queen
Physician to the King and Physician to the Queen are titles of the physician who is chief officer of the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom...
(formerly Extra Physician to King George VI); and Consulting Physician to St Bartholomew's Hospital (1912–1936). He was created Baron Horder on 23 January 1933.
Horder served as president of the Cremation Society of Great Britain
Cremation Society of Great Britain
The Cremation Society of Great Britain is an special interest organisation that advocates cremation in the United Kingdom.-The beginnings:Cremation was not legal in Great Britain until 1885, but interest in this form of burial emerged during the second half of the 19th century from ideas that...
from 1940 to his death in 1955.
Marriage and children
In 1902 Horder married Geraldine Rose Doggett (died 1954), of Newnham Manor, Hertfordshire. Their son was the publisher Thomas Mervyn Horder, 2nd Baron Horder (died 1997).Death and afterward
He lived for many years at SteepSteep
Steep is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Petersfield, just off the A3 road.The nearest railway station is Petersfield, south of the village....
near Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...
where he died on August 13, 1955.
Published works
- Clinical Pathology in Practice (Frowde, 1910)
- Cerebro-Spinal Fever (Hodder & Stoughton, 1915)
- Medical Notes (Hodder & Stoughton, 1921)
- The Essentials of Medical Diagnosis with A E Gow (Cassell & Co, 1928;)
- Health and a Day (Dent, 1938)
- Obscurantism (Watts & Co., 1938)
- Lessons Taught by War-time Feeding (1943)
- Rheumatism (H.K. Lewis & Co. Ltd., 1944)
- Diet and Rheumatism (1945)
- Health and Social Welfare annuals, editor, 1944–1945 and 1945–1946
- The British Encyclopaedia of Medical Practice, editor, 1950–1952
- Fifty Years of Medicine (Duckworth, 1953)
- Bread: The Chemistry and Nutrition of Flour and Bread with Sir Charles Dodds and T Moran (Constable, 1954)
Awards and honors
- 1918: Knight BachelorKnight BachelorThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
- 1923: created Baronet of Shaston
- 1925: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
- 1933: created 1st Baron Horder, of Ashford in the County of Southampton
- 1938: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
- Hon. DCLDoctor of Civil LawDoctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
(Dunelm.Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
) - Hon. MD (Melbourne and Adelaide)
- FRCP