Colin Chisholm (medical writer) facts for kids

Colin Chisholm (1755–1825) was a Scottish surgeon and medical writer. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very old and respected group of scientists.

A Doctor's Life

Chisholm worked as a doctor for the British army during the American War of Independence. After the war, in 1783, he moved to Grenada in the West Indies to practice medicine. He was invited there by another doctor, John Rollo.

In 1790, Chisholm visited Demerara, which is now part of Guyana. He bought a cotton farm there. He also learned about a special eye medicine from the Arawak people. This medicine was made from the root of a plant called Bignonia.

In 1793, Chisholm earned his M.D. degree (Doctor of Medicine) from King's College, Aberdeen in Scotland. In 1795, he became the chief surgeon for the British army's artillery. He joined an expedition led by Ralph Abercromby. Chisholm spent five months in the Virgin Islands in 1797. After this, he was promoted to inspector-general of hospitals.

Chisholm retired in 1800 and moved back to his farm in Demerara. He spent three years growing cotton there. Later, he moved back to Europe and settled in Bristol, England. He had a successful medical practice in Bristol.

On November 24, 1808, Chisholm was chosen to be a fellow of the Royal Society. He spent his later years living quietly in Europe. He passed away in Sloane Street, London, in early 1825.

Important Medical Writings

Besides writing for medical magazines, Chisholm wrote several important books.

Understanding Yellow Fever

One of his most famous works was An Essay on the Malignant Pestilential Fever. This book was about a serious illness that arrived in the West Indies in 1793 and 1794. Today, we know this illness as yellow fever.

Chisholm wrote about his experiences in Grenada in 1793. A ship called the Hankey arrived, carrying a disease from a place called Bolama in what is now Guinea-Bissau. Chisholm believed the disease spread from person to person. This idea, called "contagion," was a big debate among doctors back then.

His first book came out in 1795. A second, much larger edition was published in 1801. In this new edition, he added more arguments. He used the example of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 in America to support his ideas. Because of his work, yellow fever was sometimes called "Bulam fever."

Continuing the Debate

In 1809, Chisholm wrote A Letter to John Haygarth, M.D.. This book continued the discussion about how yellow fever spread. He wrote it to another doctor, John Haygarth, and also mentioned an American doctor named Edward Miller.

Tropical Diseases Manual

Chisholm also wrote A Manual of the Climate and Diseases of Tropical Countries in 1822. This book looked at the health problems and treatments for diseases found in hot, tropical places. In this book, he supported a treatment idea using "nitric acid." This idea came from studies he had done at a hospital in Martinique.

The debate about whether yellow fever was contagious continued for many years. Some doctors, like Usher Parsons in 1836, thought it was not contagious. They believed that quarantine (keeping sick people separate) was useless against it.

His Family

In 1794, Chisholm married Elizabeth Cooper in Inverness, Scotland. Their daughter, Janet (born around 1800, died 1890), married Thomas Waddington. Thomas was the son of a cotton merchant named William Waddington. Colin Chisholm's grandson was William Henry Waddington.