author

George Macilwain

1797–1882

An Irish surgeon and medical writer of the 19th century, he is remembered both for his own surgical works and for a widely read memoir of his teacher, John Abernethy. His career linked practical hospital work with a strong interest in how medicine should be studied and explained.

1 Audiobook

Memoirs of John Abernethy With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published

Memoirs of John Abernethy With a View of His Lectures, His Writings, and Character; with Additional Extracts from Original Documents, Now First Published

by George Macilwain

About the author

Born in 1797, he was the son of an Irish country surgeon and followed a similar path into medicine. As a young man he studied under the influential surgeon John Abernethy at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and he was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1818.

For many years he practiced as a surgeon in London, including work connected with the Finsbury Dispensary. He also wrote extensively on surgery and medicine, publishing books on tumors, diagnosis, inflammation, and broader medical theory.

He is especially noted as the author of Memoirs of John Abernethy, which helped preserve the life and teaching of his former mentor for later readers. Sources consulted during this search agree that he died in 1882.