George Henry Abbott was an Australian surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

, President of the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 branch of the British Medical Association

British Medical Association

The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...

, President of the Royal Australian Historical Society

Royal Australian Historical Society

The Royal Australian Historical Society is a voluntary organisation founded in Sydney, Australia in 1901 to encourage Australians to understand more about their history...

 and a fellow

Fellow

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

 of the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 Senate

Senate

A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...

.

Early life

Abbott was the son of Joseph Abbott, wool-broker and politician, and Margaret Ann Bennett. He was one of six sons and three daughters. At birth his family lived in Glebe

Glebe, New South Wales

Glebe is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Glebe is located 3 km south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney, in the Inner West region....

 before moving to Newtown

Newtown, New South Wales

Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....

 where his father was an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

. Around 1880 the family moved to the newly fashionable suburb of Croydon

Croydon, New South Wales

Croydon is an affluent suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Croydon is located 11 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. Croydon is split between the two local government areas of Burwood Council and the Municipality of Ashfield.The...

. Abbott was educated at Newington College

Newington College

Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 (1881–1884) and graduated in arts and medicine from the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

.

Medical career

Abbott practiced as a surgeon in Macquarie Street, Sydney

Macquarie Street, Sydney

Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...

 and lectured in clinical surgery at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown...

 from 1911 to 1927. On the foundation of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons he was appointed as a Fellow. For many years, Abbott served as a councillor of the New South Wales branch of the British Medical Association and then was elected President.

Community involvement

He was a keen numismatist and served as President of the Royal Australian Historical Society from 1934 to 1936 and as a Fellow of the Sydney University Senate from 1919 to 1929. Abbott served as President of the Old Newingtonians' Union

Newington College

Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 in 1901.

External links

• Ruth Teale, George Henry Abbott (1867 - 1942), Australian Dictionary of Biography
  Australian Dictionary of Biography
  The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
  
  , Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 3–4.