author
Ambrose Blacklock
1816–1873
A 19th-century physician and medical writer, he combined practical medicine with a gift for clear explanation. His surviving works range from cholera and public health to sheep husbandry, showing the wide curiosity common in Victorian scientific life.
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About the author
Educated in Edinburgh, Ambrose Blacklock entered the Madras Medical Service in 1840. Contemporary reference works describe him as a physician and teacher who became Professor of Surgery, and later Professor of Medicine, at the General Hospital and Madras Medical College.
He wrote on urgent medical questions of his day, including cholera, and his name remained well known in Madras after his death. Sources also connect him with medical jurisprudence lectures and note that a memorial medal was established in his honor for students at Madras Medical College.
Blacklock also published beyond medicine. His book A Treatise on Sheep became one of the works associated with his name, suggesting a writer comfortable moving between professional science and practical rural knowledge. He died at Chittoor on February 11, 1873, while serving as Deputy Inspector-General in the Madras Medical Service.