The Classic

Abstract

Robert Hamilton Russell (Fig. 1) was born in England and received his medical education at King's College, London. There, he came under the influence of Joseph Lister, for whom he worked as a house-officer. He also visited hospitals on the continent. After obtaining his qualifications as a surgeon, Russell practiced in London for two years before emigrating to Australia. As one of his associates, C. H. Fagge, wrote, “He never told us why he was going to leave England, but we knew that he went to the beautiful climate of Australia to escape from a fear of tuberculosis.” Although he made occasional trips to the United States and to Europe, and served in England and France during World War I, his career was in Australia. He became an important figure in the surgical scene in Melbourne as a practitioner, teacher, and leader in the surgical community. He became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1924 and was a founding member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1927. His description of a method of skin traction for the treatment of fractures of the femur made his name well-known to surgeons throughout the world. Although he became quite disabled in his later years, he retained his ability as a pianist, a talent he used to entertain his many friends. He was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 1933.