William Thelwall Thomas
Professor William Thelwall Thomas MBE, ChM, FRCS (February 1865 – 10 September 1927) was a Welsh surgeon who worked in Liverpool.
William Thelwall Thomas | |
|---|---|
_NLW3363733.jpg.webp) Photograph by his father John Thomas | |
| Born | February 1865 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 10 September 1927 Liverpool, England |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
Early life, family and education
Thomas was born in Liverpool in 1865, the son of the Welsh photographer John Thomas (1838–1905) and his wife Elizabeth. His father made a series of photographs of Thomas that are now in the collection of the National Library of Wales.[1]
Thomas attended school at the Liverpool Institute and studied medicine at the University of Glasgow where he graduated in 1886.[1]
Career
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Thomas decided to devote himself to work as a consultant surgeon to the exclusion of other medical work; this was unconventional at the time. He was appointed as an assistant surgeon at the Liverpool Royal Infirmary in 1892 and as a full surgeon there in 1907. In 1913 he was elected professor of Regional Surgery at the University of Liverpool, a position he held until his retirement in 1927.[1]
Thomas became president of the surgical section of the British Medical Association in 1913. He was on the council of the Royal College of Surgeons from 1921 until his death.[2]
Thomas was a fine and dexterous surgeon who was equally skilled at diagnosis.[2] He pioneered the use of antiseptic techniques in Liverpool, following the principles of Joseph Lister to which he had been exposed as a student in Glasgow.[3] He developed what is still the most common surgical treatment for varicose veins.[4] The first planned appendectomy in Liverpool was performed by Thomas in 1895.[5]
Personal life and death
Thomas spoke Welsh fluently and maintained a close interest in Welsh affairs. In 1925 he was one of the presidents at the National Eisteddfod in Pwllheli.[1]
Thomas was an active member of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church (now the Presbyterian Church of Wales) and was for many years a Sunday school teacher.[1] He was the medical officer of the Foreign Mission of the Presbyterian Church of Wales.[6]
In 1892 he married Anabel Spence; they had no children. Anabel died in 1927, two months before her husband on 10 September 1927.[3]
See also
List of Welsh medical pioneers
References
- Jones, Emyr Wyn. "THOMAS, WILLIAM THELWALL (1865–1927)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- "Thomas, William Thelwall (1865–1927)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. Royal College of Surgeons. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- "Obituary: William Thelwall Thomas". British Medical Journal. 2 (3480): 520–523. 17 September 1927. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.3480.520-c. PMC 2524849. PMID 20773409.
- Mosquera, Damien. "Surgery for varicose veins".
- Edwards, David. "Victorian Liverpool: Some Facts and Figures" (PDF). Liverpool Medical Institution. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- Rees, D. Ben (2002). Vehicles of grace & hope : Welsh missionaries in India 1800–1970. Pasadena: William Carey Library. p. 225. ISBN 9780878085057. Retrieved 27 July 2015.