Caesar Hawkins facts for kids
Caesar Henry Hawkins (born September 19, 1798 – died July 20, 1884) was a very important British surgeon. He was known for his skill and for teaching others how to save limbs instead of removing them.
His Life and Work
Caesar Henry Hawkins came from a family of doctors. His grandfather, Sir Cæsar Hawkins, 1st Baronet, was a famous surgeon to King George II and King George III.
Caesar Henry Hawkins studied at Christ's Hospital and then at St George's Hospital in London starting in 1818. He became a surgeon at St George's Hospital in 1829 and worked there until 1861.
He achieved many important roles during his career:
- In 1862, he became the personal surgeon to Queen Victoria. This was a very high honor!
- He was also the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England twice, in 1852 and 1861.
- He led the Pathological Society of London in 1853.
Hawkins was famous for successfully performing difficult surgeries. For a long time, he was known as the only surgeon in a London hospital to successfully perform an ovariotomy (a surgery on the ovaries) in 1846. This was especially amazing because it happened before anaesthetics (medicines to make you sleep during surgery) were used. He also helped make a surgery called colostomy more common.
Even though he was a very skilled surgeon, he believed in "conservative surgery." This meant he always tried to teach his students how to save a patient's limb rather than cutting it off.
His Writings
Caesar Henry Hawkins collected his articles from medical journals and published them in two books in 1874. These writings included his thoughts on different medical topics like Tumours, Excision of the Ovarium (removing ovaries), Hydrophobia and Snake-bites, and Stricture of the Colon.
