Thomas Denman | |
|---|---|
 Denman byWilliam Skelton | |
| Born | 27 June 1733[1] |
| Died | 26 November 1815(1815-11-26) (aged 82)[1] |
| Burial place | St James's Church,England,United Kingdom |
| Education | Bakewell grammar school |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Children | Thomas and 2 daughters |
| Parent | John |
Thomas Denman, the elder, M.D. (27 June 1733 – 26 November 1815) was an English physician. He was the second son of John Denman (or Thomas[2]), an apothecary. After a career in naval medicine he made a considerable amount of money inmidwifery. The phenomenon ofDenman's spontaneous evolution, by which a spontaneous impaction of the shoulder of a foetus resolves a difficult transverse delivery during childbirth, is named after him.[3] He used his authority to supportinducingprematurelabour in cases of narrow pelvis and other conditions in England (where the mother's life is imperiled by delivery at the full-time).[1]
Denman was educated atLady Manners School. He came toLondon in 1753, and began to study medicine atSt George's Hospital. He entered the medical service of theRoyal Navy as a surgeon's mate, and in 1757 became a surgeon. Attached, till 1763, to the shipHMSEdgar, when, on the conclusion of peace, he left the service. He then continued his medical studies, and attended the lectures on midwifery ofDr. William Smellie, one of the best observers and most original writers on this field of medical study, and to whose instruction the future distinction of Denman was in part due. He graduated from medical training atAberdeen 13 July 1764, and began practice as a physician atWinchester. He got so little to do that he returned to London and tried to re-enter the navy, but failed to get an appointment. He obtained, however, the post of surgeon to aroyal yacht, the duties of which did not often take him away from London, while the retainer of £70 a year was an important addition to his income. He lectured on midwifery, and continued to do so for fifteen years. In 1769, he was elected physician accoucheur to theMiddlesex Hospital, and held the post till his large practice forced him to give it up in 1783. In that year he was admitted a licentiate in mid-wifery of theCollege of Physicians.[1]
In 1791, having accumulated a considerable fortune, he bought a country house atFeltham inMiddlesex. He never gave up practice altogether, but limited it to consultations.
He was the first physician whose authority made the practice general in England of inducing premature labour in cases of narrow pelvis and other conditions, in which the mother's life is imperilled by the attempt to deliver at the full-time.[1]
There are three volumes of theDiaries of John Knyveton edited by Ernest Gray, published between 1937 and 1946, that are clearly based on the life of Thomas Denman, although they do not state this. The first volume has inaccuracies with regards to dates for some events but a quick analysis of the two later volumes reveals that Denman and Knyveton are the same person. Although some of the dates are incorrect, there are fewer inaccuracies than in the first volume.[4]
Denman died at his town house in Mount Street, London, 26 November 1815, and was buried in theSt. James' Church inPiccadilly. Thomas had an elder brother who was also a doctor and published a book calledTreatise on Buxton Water: he married an heiress. When he died, he left his wealth to Thomas' son.[2] His eldest son,Thomas Denman the younger, becameChief justice of England, while one of his two daughters married Dr.Matthew Baillie, the pathologist, and the other married SirRichard Croft, M.D.[1] Croft was trained by Denman, and committed suicide in 1817 after losing a princess' child.
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