Henry Blanc

Born on September 17, 1831, Henry Jules Blanc trained in medicine at Montpellier and later qualified in England. He served with French forces in the Crimean War, joined the Bombay Medical Service, and also saw service in China before becoming surgeon to the British mission to Abyssinia in 1864.

Blanc is especially remembered for his imprisonment by Emperor Theodore of Abyssinia along with other members of the mission. After nearly two years in captivity, he was released during the British expedition to Magdala, and he wrote published narratives about those experiences in 1868.

He went on to build a strong medical reputation in India, serving as senior surgeon and professor of surgery at Grant Medical College. Later he settled in Cannes, where he had a successful consulting practice; he died on September 30, 1911. His life combined adventure writing with a substantial professional career in medicine.