Henry Bence Jones

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Henry Bence Jones (painting by George Richmond)
Henry Bence Jones (undated photography)

Henry Bence Jones (born December 31, 1813 in Yoxford , Suffolk, † April 20, 1873 in London ) was an English doctor and the most prominent representative of clinical chemistry in England in the 19th century. The Bence Jones protein is named after him.

Life

Henry Bence Jones was the son of the cavalry officer William Jones (* around 1776, † 1843) and his wife Matilda Sparrow Bence (* 1791). From 1827 he attended the Harrow School . From 1832 to 1836 he studied at Trinity College of Cambridge University . A church career was originally intended for him, but after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts , he decided against such a career . Instead, he did a year and a half internship with the pharmacist at St. George's Hospital in London. On October 1, 1838, Bence Jones finally enrolled as a medical student. In the spring of 1839 he returned to his homeland due to his illness with rheumatic fever .

After his return to London in the autumn of 1839, Bence Jones studied at University College London with Thomas Graham . His assistant, George Fownes , worked for Justus von Liebig in Giessen and taught organic chemistry to Henry Bence Jones . In October 1840 he resumed his medical studies and passed his exams the following spring.

With the recommendation of his former teachers Graham and Fownes, Henry Bence Jones spent the following six months in Justus von Liebig's laboratory in Giessen, an experience that had a lasting impact on his work as a clinical chemist.

After his return from Giessen, Bence Jones worked at St. George's Hospital again. In 1842 he received his master's degree from Cambridge University and opened his practice. In addition to his work in the laboratory at St. George's Hospital, he held lectures in organic chemistry on behalf of George Fownes. From December 1845 he worked as an assistant physician in the clinic, the following year he became a physician . Also in 1849 was the award of the medical doctorate by the University of Cambridge.

Henry Bence Jones' practice enjoyed a good reputation; his patients and friends included Thomas Henry Huxley , Charles Darwin , Hermann von Helmholtz , Michael Faraday and August Wilhelm von Hofmann . Florence Nightingale called him the "best clinical doctor" in London.

In 1862, Bence Jones resigned from St. George's Hospital. His health deteriorated increasingly from 1866. He gave up his practice in early 1873 and died of heart failure on April 20 of the same year in his London apartment on Brook Street . Bence Jones was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Henry Bence Jones was married to Lady Millicent French Acheson (1812-1887) from May 1842. The couple had seven children, four daughters and three sons.

plant

Henry Bence Jones is best known today for the Bence Jones protein named after him , which he described in 1847. The hematologist Robert A. Kyle assumes that this protein was described by Johann Florian Heller as early as 1846 . According to Kyle, Bence Jones has much more credit for pointing out the diagnostic significance of the occurrence of the protein in cancer, later referred to as multiple myeloma . The actual character of the Bence Jones protein was not revealed until the 20th century, and Bence Jones was mistaken in describing it as "hydrated deutoxide of albumin".

Because of his work in the field of clinical chemistry , Bence Jones is known as the most prominent representative of this field in England in the 19th century. He carried out urine analyzes , examined the influence of dietary measures on the composition of the urine and carried out animal experiments on the length of time drugs remain in the body.

Memberships and honors

In 1842, Henry Bence Jones received the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (LRCP). In 1846 he became a member of the Royal Society , membership of the Royal College of Physicians followed in 1849. In 1860 he was appointed Secretary of the Royal Institution , a position he held until his death.

Fonts

A comprehensive bibliography can be found in Fine: Henry Bence Jones .

  • On gravel, calculus and gout; chiefly an application of Prof. Liebig's physiology to the prevention and cure of these diseases. Taylor & Walton, London, 1842.
  • On a new substance occurring in the urine of a patient with “mollities ossium”. Phil Trans Royal Soc London 55–62, 1848. ( full text )
  • Chemistry of urine. , 1857.
  • On animal chemistry in its application to stomach and renal diseases. , 1856.
  • Lectures on some of the applications of chemistry and mechanics to pathology and therapeutics. , 1867.
  • Lectures on matter and tone. Croonian Lectures; College of Physicians, 1868. ( full text )
  • The life and letters of Faraday . 2 vol., Longmans, Green, London 1870. ( full text volume 1 , full text volume 2 )
  • The Royal institution: its founder and its first professors . Longmans, Green, London 1871. ( full text )

literature

  • Rosenfeld: Henry Bence Jones (1813–1873): the best “chemical doctor” in London. In: Clin. Chem. Vol. 33 (9), 1987, pp. 1687-1692, PMID 3304718 .
  • Kyle: Henry Bence Jones - physician, chemist, scientist and biographer: a man for all seasons. In: Br. J. Haematol. Vol. 115 (1), 2001, pp. 13-18, PMID 11722404 . doi: 10.1046 / j.1365-2141.2001.02962.x
  • Segall: Henry Bence Jones, AM, MD, FRS, FRCP, DCL In: Canadian Medical Association Journal. Vol. 63 (6), 1950, pp. 605-609, PMID 14792450 .
  • Coley: Medical chemists and the origins of clinical chemistry in Britain (circa 1750-1850). In: Clin. Chem. Vol. 50 (5), 2004, p. 967, PMID 15105362 . doi: 10.1373 / clinchem.2003.029645
  • Fine: Henry Bence Jones (1813-1873): on the influence of diet on urine composition. Including a previously unpublished treatise on the subject and a bibliography of his writings. In: Kidney Int . Vol. 37, 1990, pp. 1019-1025, PMID 2179613 , Bence Jones Bibliography

Web links

Commons : Henry Bence Jones  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ In other sources the year of birth is given as 1814.
  2. ↑ a b c Coley, p. 967
  3. ↑ Matilda Sparrow Bence on thepeerage.com , accessed August 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ Rosenfeld, p. 1690
  5. ^ Henry Robert Bence Jones on thepeerage.com , accessed August 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Henry Bence Jones: On a New Substance Occurring in the Urine of a Patient with Mollities Ossium . In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society . tape 138 , 1848, pp. 55-62 , JSTOR : 108284 .
  7. ↑ The results of the investigation were made public as early as 1847 and were published a year later.
  8. ^ Kyle, p. 13
  9. ↑ Bence Jones, Henry (1813-1873) . Royal Institution of Great Britain. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
  10. ^ Fine: Henry Bence Jones (1813–1873): on the influence of diet on urine composition. Including a previously unpublished treatise on the subject and a bibliography of his writings. Kidney Int (1990) vol. 37 (3) pp. 1019-1025 PMID 2179613 , Bence Jones Bibliography
personal data
SURNAME Bence Jones, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English doctor and chemist
DATE OF BIRTH December 31, 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH Yoxford , Suffolk
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 1873
Place of death London