Joseph Lister (1827-1912)
ED.CS.2010.134
Lister, Joseph (1827-1912). Portrait, oil, fixed in oak surround. Painted by Dorofield Hardy (1853-1937) after Walter William Ouless. [?1900]. Artist: Hardy, Dorofield.
Lord Lister is one of the leading figures in the history of surgery. The son of a Quaker wine merchant and scientist, he was born in Essex. As a student at University College London he was present at the historic operation under ether anaesthesia carried out by Robert Liston. After graduating he came to Edinburgh in 1853 to work under James Syme and he married Syme's daughter in 1856.
He became Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University and it was there, in 1865, that he made his seminal discovery and initiated the antiseptic era. In this work, he was profoundly influenced by Pasteur's work on putrefaction.
His historic work ‘On a New Method of Treating Compound Fracture and Abscess etc with Observations on the Conditions of Suppuration’ was published in the Lancet between March and July 1867. In his six years at Glasgow Royal Infirmary he converted his wards from some of the most unhealthy in the kingdom to models of healthiness.
Twentieth century
