Andrew Combe
Andrew Combe (born October 27, 1797 in Edinburgh , Scotland , † August 9, 1847 in Gorgie near Edinburgh) was a Scottish doctor and phrenologist .
Early life
Andrew Combe was born in the suburbs of Edinburgh, the fifteenth child of George Combe and his wife Marion Newton. Andrew was the seventh son of his parents and was the younger brother of George Combe who, like Andrew, became a phrenologist. After he was sent to Edinburgh High School at the age of eight and learned Latin and Greek , he trained as a surgeon and was accepted into the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1817 .
Phrenology and Later Life
Andrew Combe went to Paris to complete his medical degree and was made aware of this new teaching by his brother, who was already studying phrenology at the time. He returned to Edinburgh in 1819, having the first symptoms of tuberculosis .
In 1823, with the help of his friends and brother, he founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Journal , which he supported with articles. Also in 1823 he defended phrenology before the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh and published some works over the next few years, which earned him some supporters.
In 1834 he wanted to become a superintendent at Montrose Asylum, a mental hospital near Angus, Scotland , but withdrew his application. Two years later he became a doctor to Leopold I , King of Belgium , and therefore moved to Brussels . But he couldn't stay long because he had an attack of hemoptysis , a symptom of tuberculosis, and blamed the Belgian climate for it. The King and Baron Stockmar persuaded him to stay a few more weeks with the intention that he would reconsider his decision. But he traveled back to Edinburgh and was appointed personal physician to Queen Victoria in 1838 .
In 1840 he published his last, but probably best, book on the physiological and moral handling of infants. From then on his health deteriorated; so he suffered extreme weaknesses. Therefore he spent two winters in Madeira and visited other health resorts. He also made a trip to the United States , where he had to travel back to Scotland shortly after arriving in New York because of his tuberculosis.
He died on August 9, 1847, while visiting a nephew at Gorgie, near Edinburgh.
Works
- Observations on Mental Derangement (1831)
- Principles of Physiology Applied to Health and Education (1834)
- Physiology of Digestion (1836)
- What Asylums Were, Are, and Ought to Be (1837)
- Physiological and Moral Management of Infancy (1840)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Combe, Andrew |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish doctor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 27, 1797 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Edinburgh , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 1847 |
| Place of death | Gorgie , Scotland |