Edward Latham Ormerod facts for kids

Edward Latham Ormerod (born August 27, 1819 – died March 18, 1873) was an English doctor and a keen amateur entomologist. He was known for his work in medicine and his studies of insects, especially wasps.

Edward was born in London. He was the seventh of ten children. His father, George Ormerod, was a historian who wrote about Cheshire. His mother, Sarah Latham, was the daughter of a well-known doctor, John Latham. Edward's younger sister, Eleanor Anne Ormerod, also became a famous entomologist.

Edward went to Rugby School until 1838. After that, he studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He then attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he earned scholarships for his studies in classical subjects, anatomy, and chemistry. He became a Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.) in 1846 and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1851.

A Doctor's Career

After finishing his studies, Edward returned to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1846. He worked there helping with medical examinations. However, he had some health problems. Because of this, he moved to Brighton in 1847 to work as a doctor.

In 1851, he became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. This is a special honor for doctors. That same year, he gave important talks called the Gulstonian Lectures. These talks were about heart problems, specifically "valvular disease of the heart." In 1853, he became a doctor at the Sussex County Hospital.

Studying Wasps

During his time as a doctor, Edward also wrote many papers. These papers were about both medicine and natural history. He was very interested in insects.

His most famous book was British Social Wasps, published in 1868. This book was about different types of wasps that live in groups. Because of his important work on wasps, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society on June 6, 1872. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society is a great honor for scientists.

Family Life and Legacy

Edward Latham Ormerod passed away in 1873. He had married Mary Olivia Porter in 1853, but she died later that same year. In 1856, he married Maria Millett. They had six children together. One of his sons, Sir Arthur Latham Ormerod, also became a doctor. He was Oxford's first Medical Officer for Health.

Works by Edward Ormerod

Edward Ormerod wrote several important medical and natural history books and papers, including:

• Clinical Observations on Continued Fever (1848)
• On Fatty degeneration of the Heart (1849)
• On non-rheumatic Pericarditis (1853)
• Degeneration of the Bones (published in St Bartholomew's Hospital Reports)
• Pathology of Fatty Degeneration (published in St Bartholomew's Hospital Reports, 1868)
• The Natural History of British Social Wasps (1868)