BATEMAN, THOMAS

1792 - c.1817

Admin history: Thomas Bateman (1778 - 1821) was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, on 29 April 1778, the only son of a surgeon. He was apprenticed to an apothecary in Whitby for three years. In 1797 he began his studies in London, at the Windmill Street School of Anatomy, founded by Dr William Hunter, the celebrated anatomist. There he attended the lectures of Matthew Baillie, morbid anatomist. Simultaneously he attended the medical practice of St George's Hospital. He subsequently went to Edinburgh in 1798 to study, and obtained his MD in 1801. Bateman returned to London in 1801, with the purpose of starting in practice and completing his studies. He became a pupil of Dr Robert Willan, a pioneer in the diseases of the skin, at the Carey Street Public Dispensary. In 1804, due to Willan's influence, he was elected physician both at the Dispensary and at the Fever Institution (later the Fever Hospital). In 1805 he was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. It is said that Bateman was a 'skilful physician and excellent medical writer, whose works on skin diseases are still important' (ibid, p.394). Indeed his writings not only show his practical knowledge but also, from the references to ancient and modern writers, his learning. He wrote a number of smaller papers, in addition to the larger works, including all the entries in Abraham Rees's 'The Cyclopaedia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature' (1819) from the letter 'C' onwards, with only the exception of the 'History of Medicine'. He was the first librarian of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, assisting in the foundation of the library, and compiling its first catalogue. In 1816 Bateman's health began to suffer, having had since childhood a delicate constitution. He retired to Yorkshire and died in Whitby, on 9 April 1821, at the age of 42. Sources: 'The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 1801-1825', William Munk (London, 1878) [Munk's Roll Vol. III pp.19-22] 'Dictionary of National Biography, vol. III', Leslie Stephen (ed.) (London, 1885) [DNB, vol. III, pp.393-94] 'Some Account of the Life and Character of the Late Thomas Bateman, MD, FLS, Physician to the Public Dispensary and to the Fever Institution in London', James Rumsey (London, 1827)‎