Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet
Frederick Treves, Bt | |
---|---|
Born | Dorchester, Dorset, England | 15 February 1853
Died | 7 December 1923 Lausanne, Switzerland | (aged 70)
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | London Hospital Medical College |
Known for | Friendship with Joseph Merrick and saving the life of Edward VII |
Spouse |
Ann Elizabeth Mason (m. 1877) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Medicine, surgery |
Signature | |
Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet,
Life and career
Frederick Treves was born on 15 February 1853 in
He was a
Eminent surgeon
Treves began his medical career as a general practitioner, becoming a partner in a medical practice in Wirksworth, Derbyshire.[6] His daughter was born in Wirksworth in 1878. The house he lived in on Coldwell Street is called Treves House. He moved to London where he became a surgeon, specialising in abdominal surgery, at the London Hospital in the late 19th and early 20th century. On 29 June 1888, he performed the first appendectomy in England.
In 1884, Treves first saw Joseph Merrick, known as the Elephant Man, being exhibited by showman Tom Norman in a shop across the road from the London Hospital.[7] Treves brought Merrick to the London Hospital in about 1886, having him live there until his death in April 1890. Treves' reminiscences mistakenly name Joseph Merrick as "John Merrick", an error widely recirculated by biographers of Merrick including the account rendered in the 1980 film.
During the
In March 1900, Treves was appointed one of the Surgeons Extraordinary to Queen Victoria,[11] and after her death the following year, he was appointed one of several Honorary Serjeants Surgeon to her successor, Edward VII.[12] In May 1901 he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO).[13]
The King's Achilles tendon was treated in January 1902, and then in June he found a "hard swelling in the abdomen".
Treves was honoured with a baronetcy on 24 July 1902[20] (which Edward had arranged before the operation),[21] and appendix surgery entered the medical mainstream in the UK. He was granted the use of Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park and was subsequently able to take early retirement. He published a book about his experiences of the king's illnesses, shortly after the coronation. Treves continued to serve the royal family as Serjeant Surgeon to the King and to the Royal Household from July 1902[20] until 1910. In November 1905 the King fell down a rabbit hole, straining his Achilles tendon, for which he was fitted with an iron splint.[22]
Treves received the
Author and legacy
Treves' ability as an author was discovered by
Around 1920, Sir Frederick went to live in
Family
In 1877, Treves married Ann Elizabeth, daughter of Alfred Samuel Mason, of Dorchester.[25][26] They had two daughters, Enid Margery Treves – who married in 1902 Lt-Col Charles Delmé-Radcliffe, CMG, MVO – and Hetty Marion Treves (1882–1900).[25]
Fictional portrayals
Treves is one of the main characters in The Elephant Man, Bernard Pomerance's 1977 play about Joseph Merrick's life, as well as David Lynch's 1980 film, in which he was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. In that film, the English actor Frederick Treves, Sir Frederick's great-nephew, plays an alderman. Working at the London Hospital and coming into contact with criminal cases, he is also depicted by Paul Ready in the BBC historical crime drama Ripper Street, set in the East End in the 1890s.
A fictional version of The Tale of a Field Hospital and Treves are featured in an episode of horror fiction podcast The Magnus Archives by Jonathon Sims.[27]
In real life, Sir Frederick Treves appeared as himself amongst other society Britons helping out with the war effort in D. W. Griffith's lost silent film The Great Love (1918).[28]
References
- ^ PMID 12765932.
- ^ "TREVES, Sir Frederick (1853–1923)". AIM25/Royal College of Physicians. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ "Treves, Sir Frederick (1853 - 1923)". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/36557. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Baronets". The Register. Adelaide: Trove. 27 June 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
- ^ "history of Treves House". Wirksworth Website. 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ Howell & Ford (1992), p. 77.
- ^ Lee (1985), p. 69.
- ^ "No. 27431". The London Gazette. 6 May 1902. p. 3017.
- ^ "No. 27469". The London Gazette. 29 August 1902. p. 5606.
- ^ "No. 27175". The London Gazette. 20 March 1900. p. 1875.
- ^ "No. 27300". The London Gazette. 29 March 1901. p. 2194.
- ^ "No. 27318". The London Gazette. 28 May 1901. p. 3633.
- ^ The Lancet, 5 July 1902, p. 28.
- ^ Ridley, p. 365.
- ^ for a full account of the procedure - Christopher Hibbert, Edward VII, p. 282; Stephen Trombley, Sir Frederick Treves, (London 1989), p. 130.
- ISBN 978-0-7011-7614-3(pp. 366–367).
- ^ Sir Frederick Treves, "An Account of the Illness of King Edward VII in June 1902" (a typescript manuscript Royal Archive (RA) Victoria (VIC)/Additional (Add) U/28, p. 9.
- ^ Windsor (1951), p. 20.
- ^ a b "No. 27457". The London Gazette. 25 July 1902. p. 4738.
- ^ Bentley (1992), p. 127.
- ^ Stamper, "What I know", p. 157.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36815. London. 9 July 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "Sir Frederick Treves". whonamedit.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2009.
- ^ a b Visitation of England and Wales, vol. 13, ed. Frederick Arthur Crisp, 1905, p. 176.
- ^ The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, 59th edition, ed. Edward Walford, Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd, 1860, p. 1341.
- ^ "The Tale of a Field Hospital". The Magnus Archives (podcast). Rusty Quill. 7 June 2017.
- ISBN 0-517-52326-4Retrieved 22 October 2015.
Sources
- OCLC 26997839.
- Howell, Michael; Ford, Peter (1992). OCLC 29668435.
- Lee, Emanoel C. G. (1985). To The Bitter End: A Photographic History of the Boer War, 1899–1902. New York City: Viking Press. OCLC 16226243.
- OCLC 471712190.
- Trombley, Stephen (1989). Sir Frederick Treves. London: Routledge.
- Magnus, Philip (1964). Edward VII. London: John Murray.
- Hibbert, Christopher (1995). Edward VII.
External links
- Works by Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Sir Frederick Treves at Faded Page (Canada)
- Works by or about Frederick Treves at Internet Archive
- Works by Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences
- Who Named It biography
- Frederick Treves at Surgical-tutor.org.uk