author
John Higginbottom
1788–1876
Best known as a Nottingham surgeon who championed the medical use of nitrate of silver, he built a strong reputation in the early 19th century and later became a Fellow of the Royal Society. His work sits at the crossroads of practical medicine and scientific curiosity.
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About the author
John Higginbottom was an English surgeon born on June 14, 1788, at Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire. After spending time in Nottingham, he went to London to attend lectures by Astley Cooper and others, qualified in 1818, and then returned to Nottingham, where he quickly built a large surgical practice.
He is chiefly remembered for promoting nitrate of silver as a treatment for inflammation, wounds, ulcers, and erysipelas. His medical writing was practical and direct, and several editions of his work on nitrate of silver were published over the years, showing how closely his name became tied to that treatment.
Higginbottom's interests were wider than day-to-day surgery. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on June 3, 1852, and Royal Society records also connect him with research on the development of tritons and frogs. He died on April 7, 1876.