Regius Professor Research Articles

Evidence for a remarkable survival of invertebrates from the teaching collection of William MacGillivray (1796–1852), Marischal College, Aberdeen

A box of invertebrates, mainly insects, some of which have labels dated between 1838 and 1841, was acquired by the author at a public auction in 2022. The box and the style of preservation is consistent with a collection assembled in the late 1830s. It is postulated that this small collection once formed part of the museum assembled by William MacGillivray at Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland, following his appointment as Regius Professor of Civil and Natural History in 1841.

John Alexander Mullin (1835-1899): The Canadian Physician who first described Osler's Nodes.

Sir William Osler (1849-1919), who became Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford in 1905, first drew attention in 1909 to the painful nodes in subacute bacterial endocarditis, which now carry his eponym, and he published an account in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine, which he helped establish. Attention is drawn to the often overlooked fact that it was a Dr John Alexander Mullin (1835-1899) of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, who first drew the attention of Sir William Oster to their occurrence. Confusion arose over the relationship between Osler's nodes and the skin lesions described by Theodore Caldwell Janeway (1872-1917), which are generally non-tender and found in acute bacterial endocarditis. The evidence is that there is essentially no difference since their pathogenesis and histological findings are identical.

HF01-06 HUGH HAMPTON YOUNG'S WAR ON ANESTHESIA

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023HF01-06 HUGH HAMPTON YOUNG'S WAR ON ANESTHESIA Jack Cassell and Michael Moran Jack CassellJack Cassell More articles by this author and Michael MoranMichael Moran More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003243.06AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Hugh H. Young (1870-1945) is considered by many to be a founding father of American Urology. He waged a war throughout his career on behalf of Crawford W. Long, proclaiming Long as the discoverer of anesthesia. As a young assistant resident surgeon at Johns Hopkins he presented a detailed account of Long’s discovery of anesthesia. METHODS: For our investigation we used the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, along with Dr. Young’s original presentation before the Johns Hopkins Hospital Historical Society on the evening of November 8, 1896. Ultimately leading to the pursuit of the wars of discovery and demonstration of general anesthesia itself. RESULTS: Young was never a Southern apologist, and his pursuit of his passions characterized his long and distinguished career as the Founding Father of the Journal of Urology and the Johns Hopkins Urology program. In 1897, while still a surgical resident himself, Young presented a paper titled, “Long, the discoverer of anesthesia. His original documents” to a history group originated by William Osler. CONCLUSIONS: It is claimed by Dr. Young had met the daughter of Crawford Long, Mrs. Fanny Long Taylor who had kept his original documents. These documents show that Dr. Long first administered sulfuric ether to a patient for neck surgery in 1852, almost 2 ½ years prior to Wells of Harford’s discovery and later William Morton’s administration in Boston on October 16, 1846. He claimed that Long simply wanted no laurels, just some credit for pursuing this work as well. Young would become a vociferous defender of Long’s claim throughout his professional career. Young during his paper referred to the warfare over anesthesia as “The famed ether controversy.” This was enacted when Morton petitioned Congress for a reward (30th Congress, 2d Session, No. 114) for his discovery in 1849. Osler would eventually wade into this conflict from his retirement job as Regius Professor at Oxford. In later years when he addressed the Royal Society of Medicine on May 15, 1918, he would state that it is not the discoverer who is worthy of credit, but the one who brought it into practice so that the knowledge could be understood, learned, taught, and applied by others. He concludes as only Osler could summarizing the historical literature thus- “You remember the rings of Lucretius- well, there is a vis et vincula liborum, binding together books, a force just as potent as the Vis et vincula lapidist, which supports the rings, and in the literature of anaesthesia this force is derived from the works here presented to the Library.” Source of Funding: None © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e257 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Jack Cassell More articles by this author Michael Moran More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Editorial

Editorial

A Cambridge University Greek Textbook at Harvard College in 1642

Abstract This paper considers a Homeric paraphrase of the Book of Job by James Duport, Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, as the earliest known Greek textbook in use at the newly founded Harvard College, as recorded in New England's First Fruits (1643).

Bioelectricity in Plants: From So Simple a Beginning

Bioelectricity in Plants: From So Simple a Beginning

Between Scholarship and Church Politics: The Lives of John Prideaux, 1578–1650. By John Maddicott

Maddicott ends this excellent biography of John Prideaux with some reasons why the subject has not been tackled before. But Maddicott also concludes, and indeed he makes evident throughout the work, that a biography of Prideaux was needed: Prideaux made a very substantial contribution to the intellectual life of his college (Exeter) through his 30 years as rector, and to the University of Oxford in the 27 years he acted as Regius Professor of Divinity and during the five terms he served as vice-chancellor. Maddicott’s account of Prideaux’s career shows that he was an able college administrator, increasing student numbers as well as raising funds and implementing large-scale building projects. He was a committed tutor, and he continued to oversee the education of undergraduates (particularly the nobly born) even when he held senior positions. He exerted an influence, often now invisible to us, on a number of the English clergy and ruling class. Through his act lectures and orations (delivered from 1616 until the 1630s and later printed), Prideaux was in a position to pronounce on what he saw as the orthodox divinity of the English church to one of the most important audiences for such a subject. He welcomed scholars from across Protestant Europe to Exeter College, and he gained an international reputation for learning. (The most complete printed edition of his works was published in 1672 in Zurich [p. 387].) Maddicott’s is a thorough and clear-eyed account of Prideaux, who was a commendable person in ordinary ways too, even if he was not without faults: from a humble family, he was lucky to find patronage that sent him to Oxford, but once there his hard work, tenacity, and ambition won him the fellowship on which his later career rested. Although as regius professor he could be an intemperate debating-opponent, this was mostly evident in the years when the ascendancy of Laud made Prideaux feel embattled.

Edward Pococke (1604–1691), Comparative Arabic-Hebrew Philology, and the Bible

Edward Pococke is best known to historians today as one of seventeenth-century Europe's preeminent discoverers of Islam. This article explores three less familiar aspects of his work as a scholar of Arabic: his comparative approach to the “Oriental” languages; his interest in the Arabic translations of the Bible; and his study of Judaeo-Arabic biblical criticism. It argues that foregrounding these concerns—developed throughout the course of his long career as Laudian Professor of Arabic and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford—enables Pococke's work to be situated in its more specific theological contexts. In this way, it seeks to look beyond attempts to position Pococke at the origins of a disciplinary history of modern “Arabic studies,” and to understand instead how his scholarship was intertwined with early modern theological disputes—most of all, the debate about the status of the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible.

The Old Testament encounters Archaeology: the controversy between Sayce and Driver

The context and content of the debate between Archibald Henry Sayce, Professor of Assyriology and Samuel Rolles Driver, Regius Professor of Hebrew, Oxford University, are described. The inter-related backgrounds of both men are discussed. While Sayce’s criticism was focussed on the literary analysis of the Old Testament, Driver criticised Sayce’s aims, which he had misunderstood. The debate revealed that different methodologies were applied by the two men and these reflected the distinct mindsets associated with archaeological research and biblical studies.

Book Review: Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism edited by Hannah Dawson and Annelien de Dijn, Cambridge University Press, 2022, 298 pages. ISBN: 9781108844567

After <em>Rethinking the Foundations of Modern Political Thought</em> (Hamilton-Bleakley, Brett &amp; Tully 2007), another of Quentin Skinner’s influential books <em>Liberty before Liberalism</em> (Skinner 1998) received its own ‘rethinking’ in the volume <em>Rethinking Liberty before Liberalism</em>. This is an excellent way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original work that was first delivered as Skinner’s Inaugural Lecture as Regius Professor of History at Cambridge at the end of 1997. As someone who has had <em>Liberty before Liberalism</em> on my syllabus for a few years now, I cannot but welcome a new publication aimed at rethinking Skinner’s book. After all, political science students I taught could not contain the temptation to ask what happened next, if anything, in the great story of freedom and what we ought to do with the discovery. For many of them living in a Russian authoritarian context the only feasible political alternative was classical liberalism, if not libertarianism. Learning about the idea of freedom as the absence of dependency was thus an eye-opening experience. The new volume has a lot to offer to those who developed a thirst for an intellectual sequel after reading the original work.

John Huxtable Elliott (1930–2022)

John Huxtable Elliott (1930–2022)

The island, the volcanic chemical phenomena and the regius professor Daubeny

In the library of the Gioenian Academy are stored two copies of the book A Description of active and extinct Volcanoes, of Earthquakes, and of Thermal Springs (London 1848, II edition), bearing a dedication to the Academy by Dr Charles Daubeny. The author was a prominent chemist, geologist and botanist which made a particular endeavour to write A kind of Guide-book to the explorers of Districts in which Volcanic phaenomena occur abroad. Daubeny was elected to the prestigious Aldrichian Chair of Chemistry, University of Oxford (1834), was appointed to the Sherardian Chair of Botany (1834) and to the Sibthorpian Chair of Rural Economy (1840). He undertook interesting travels to Europe and North America (1819-1845), particularly three journeys to the south of Italy (1823-1845). He wrote Sketch of the Geology of Sicily (The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1825), a booklet in two parts never translated into Italian. During the visit to the Etna region Daubeny had contact with local scholars such as Mario and Carlo Gemmellaro, Giuseppe Alessi and Carmelo Maravigna which supported his appointment as foreign associate of the Gioenian Society at Catania since 10 June 1824. He was the first of the squad of geologists as early foreign corresponding or honorary members. The relevance of his main book, Sicilian booklet and other works is discussed.

Teaching Comparative Law in Eighteenth-Century England: Thomas Bever as a Comparative Lawyer as Exemplified by his Lectures on Polish Law and the Constitution

The origins of comparative legal studies usually date back to the late 19th century. These kind of studies, however, were undertaken on a regular basis much earlier. Among the first serious adherents of the idea of comparing different legal systems was Thomas Bever. Bever was a civilian lawyer who successfully combined practice in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts of England with Oxford’s fellowship and teaching duties. In the 1760s and 1770s, Bever was teaching the Civil law course on behalf of (or independently of) the current holders of the Regius Professorship. His lectures, unique in many aspects, were crowned with a set of comparative lectures. Bever was presenting the constitutional and legal systems of several European countries, including Poland, both in historical and modern dimensions. The aim of this article is to discuss Bever’s attitude towards comparative legal studies as well as to present his comparative method by reference to part of his lectures devoted to the old Polish law and constitution.

Holding church, academy and society together: Joanna Leidenhag in conversation with David Fergusson

The editorial board of Theology in Scotland wishes to mark an exceptional contribution of one of the founders of the journal, Rev Prof David Fergusson. After many years of ministry and work in Scotland, Prof Fergusson recently took up the post of Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, which also brought about his retirement from the editorial board. In this interview with Dr Joanna Leidenhag he shares a little of his own theological journey as well as insights into Scottish theology.

Editorial

Editorial

Reflections on the Centenary of Sir William Osler: Science and Humanity are One, for Nursing and Medicine

Sir William Osler (1849-1991) was Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford in the UK and a founding professor at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The centenary of Osler’s death is a time for recognition in nursing, as well as medicine, of a pioneering and highly influential Oxford physician on both sides of the Atlantic, an influence that extended to nursing from the UK to the USA. This letter captures reflections and discussion on contemporary nursing issues from an Osler Seminar Series, held at the University of Oxford in 2019 to mark the Centenary of Sir William Osler’s death, focusing on his thinking and influence related to nursing. This extended letter illuminates issues on themes of science and humanity within a clinical and educational context, exploring a range of key contemporary nursing issues. These include the significance of interpersonal relations as they relate to care attitude and care technology; the therapeutic influence of the nurse; nursing education and clinical-academic development; the value of a life world perspective on nursing and wellbeing; and practice development within the context of person-centred workplace cultures. These issues are contextualised with examples from practice and include some from nursing developments and those illustrated in part by the clinical speciality of dermatological care. The letter concludes by considering the significance of the nursing service to promoting access to quality health care in the twenty-first century and its relevance to recognising the nursing contribution to universal health care through the WHO International Year(s) of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020-21.

Drugging the undruggable: Ross Cagan interviews Kevan Shokat.

Drugging the undruggable: Ross Cagan interviews Kevan Shokat.

War and Peace: Alberico Gentili and the Early Modern Law of Nations

This treatise investigates the emergence of the early modern law of nations, focusing on Alberico Gentili’s contribution to the same. A religious refugee and Regius Professor at the University of Oxford, Alberico Gentili (1552–1608) lived in difficult times of religious wars and political persecution. He discussed issues that were topical in his lifetime and remain so today, including the clash of civilizations, the conduct of war, and the maintenance of peace. His idealism and political pragmatism constitute the principal reasons for the continued interest in his work. Gentili’s work is important for historical record, but also for better analysing and critically assessing the origins of international law and its current developments, as well as for elaborating its future trajectories.

Geen leven na Oxford? Rechtshistorici uit de Lage Landen (16)

Abstract Apart from details about youth and family, the focus of this interview with Boudewijn Sirks is on his academic career. After studying law, theology and philosophy, he graduated with a DPhil on an aspect of Roman administrative law. He then specialised in Roman law in all its aspects and in almost all of its periods of application. An extension of this led him to research further in the legal history of the Dutch East Indies. Having worked at the Universities of Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leiden, he became Professor at the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt for private law and legal history, then Regius Professor of Civil Law in the University of Oxford, where he is still Fellow of All Souls College. The interview deals with the differences between legal educations in the Netherlands, Germany and England and with his views concerning the methodology of legal history.

Introduction to symposium on Nigel Biggar, “What’s Wrong with Rights?”

In What’s Wrong with Rights?, Nigel Biggar, regius professor of moral and pastoral theology at Oxford, investigates the skepticism that has been raised concerning human rights, providing both retrospective analytical clarification and prospective provocative application. Throughout, his argumentation is measured and calm without holding back from exacting conclusions.