John Ashburton Thompson
Encyclopedia
John Ashburton Thompson (1846 – 16 September 1915) was a British
-Australia
n physician and an international authority on plague
and leprosy
.
Thompson,the eldest son of John Thompson, solicitor, was born in England
in August 1846. He was educated at St Paul's School, and University College London
, and qualified for the diplomas of the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians
. In 1878 he obtained the degree of M.D. with distinction at the Brussels University. From 1872 to 1878 he was surgeon at King's Cross
to the Great Northern Railway Company
, and also had a private practice. His health breaking down towards the end of 1878 from overwork, he went first to New Zealand
and then to New South Wales
.
He led an open-air life until his health was completely restored, and in 1883 was sent to Mackay
to investigate an epidemic of dengue. Returning to Sydney in 1884 he was given the post of temporary medical officer to the Board of Health, and a year later was appointed its chief medical inspector and deputy medical adviser to the government of New South Wales. There was no public health act and his activities were therefore much restricted, but in 1896, having been made president of the board of health, he assisted Premier Sir George Reid
in drafting a bill, which became law in November of that year. He also prepared all the necessary regulations which were still unchanged at the time of his death.
Thompson had taken much interest in leprosy and had visited Molokai
and the Hawaiian Islands
to investigate it. In 1896 he was awarded the prize offered by the national leprosy fund of Great Britain for the best history of leprosy. When there was an outbreak of plague at Sydney early in 1900, he was in charge of the measures taken to combat it, and wrote an elaborate and able Report on the Outbreak of Plague at Sydney, 1900, which was issued at the end of that year. Thompson adopted the theory of the French doctor, Paul-Louis Simond
, now generally accepted, that the disease was communicated to man by fleas from infected rats. His general conclusion was that "the best protection against epidemic plague lies in sufficient sanitary laws persistently and faithfully executed during the absence of the disease".
He delivered an address on plague at the 1906 meeting of the American Medical Association
held at Boston, and was asked to write a description of the disease for Gould and Pyle's Cyclopedia of Medicine, issued in U.S.A. He retired on a pension in 1913 and died at London on 16 September 1915. He married a daughter of Sir Julian Salomons
, who survived him.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n physician and an international authority on plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
and leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
.
Thompson,the eldest son of John Thompson, solicitor, was born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in August 1846. He was educated at St Paul's School, and University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and qualified for the diplomas of the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...
. In 1878 he obtained the degree of M.D. with distinction at the Brussels University. From 1872 to 1878 he was surgeon at King's Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
to the Great Northern Railway Company
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
, and also had a private practice. His health breaking down towards the end of 1878 from overwork, he went first to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and then to 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...
.
He led an open-air life until his health was completely restored, and in 1883 was sent to Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
to investigate an epidemic of dengue. Returning to Sydney in 1884 he was given the post of temporary medical officer to the Board of Health, and a year later was appointed its chief medical inspector and deputy medical adviser to the government of New South Wales. There was no public health act and his activities were therefore much restricted, but in 1896, having been made president of the board of health, he assisted Premier Sir George Reid
George Reid (Australian politician)
Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
in drafting a bill, which became law in November of that year. He also prepared all the necessary regulations which were still unchanged at the time of his death.
Thompson had taken much interest in leprosy and had visited Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
and the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
to investigate it. In 1896 he was awarded the prize offered by the national leprosy fund of Great Britain for the best history of leprosy. When there was an outbreak of plague at Sydney early in 1900, he was in charge of the measures taken to combat it, and wrote an elaborate and able Report on the Outbreak of Plague at Sydney, 1900, which was issued at the end of that year. Thompson adopted the theory of the French doctor, Paul-Louis Simond
Paul-Louis Simond
Paul-Louis Simond was a French physician and biologist who was born in Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, on July 30, 1858. His major contribution to science was his demonstration that the intermediates in the transmission of bubonic plague from rats to humans are the fleas Xenopsylla cheopis that dwell on...
, now generally accepted, that the disease was communicated to man by fleas from infected rats. His general conclusion was that "the best protection against epidemic plague lies in sufficient sanitary laws persistently and faithfully executed during the absence of the disease".
He delivered an address on plague at the 1906 meeting of the American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
held at Boston, and was asked to write a description of the disease for Gould and Pyle's Cyclopedia of Medicine, issued in U.S.A. He retired on a pension in 1913 and died at London on 16 September 1915. He married a daughter of Sir Julian Salomons
Julian Salomons
The Honourable Sir Julian Emanuel Salomons was a barrister, royal commissioner, solicitor-general, chief justice and member of parliament. He was the only chief justice in New South Wales to be appointed and resign before he was ever sworn into office...
, who survived him.