Charles Hilton Fagge (1838-1883): an early skin physician in London

Abstract

Charles Hilton Fagge (Figure 1) was born on June 30, 1838, at Hythe in Kent, England, to a family with a medical tradition. His maternal uncle, John Hilton (1804-1878), was an anatomist and surgeon, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and surgeon extraordinary to Queen Victoria.1,2 His father, Charles Fagge, and his grandfather were also physicians. He was the oldest of three brothers, all of whom became physicians. Fagge entered Guy's Hospital Medical School in 1856, where his uncle, John Hilton, was a surgeon. In 1857, Fagge placed first in botany and second in chemistry in the matriculation examinations for the University of London. He was one of the best students at the university and passed the MB examination in 1859. He received many awards and recognitions in different fields, including botany, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology, as well as structural and physiological botany.3-5 He was elected to the Royal College of Surgeons in 1860 and received an MD degree 2 years later. In 1862, he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy at Guy's Hospital. Then, he progressed to medical registrar, demonstrator on cutaneous diseases, and assistant physician. For several years, he was a coeditor of the Guy's Hospital Reports, where he also published some of his important papers. His first contribution to this journal was published in 1864, for which he described a case of “Aneurysm seated on an abnormal main artery of the lower limb.” Fagge also lectured on hygiene and pathology and became a demonstrator of morbid anatomy. For many years, he was curator of the Museum of Guy's Hospital which led to the publication of “Catalogue of models of diseases of the skin in the Museum of Guy's Hospital” in