William Henry Battle

Who was William Henry Battle?

William Henry Battle was an English surgeon and teacher.

Battle was born in Lincolnshire, 1855. He was educated at Haileybury School, Hertfordshire. His family: Battle, were notable Lincolnshire and Sussex landowners.

Battle graduated in 1880 from St Thomas's Medical School in London, England. He was a surgeon at St. Thomas's Hospital and an associate of the Royal Free Hospital of London. He became Professor of Surgery and Pathology in the Royal College of Surgeons of England and taught in the Medical School for Women.

His son was Lt. Col. Richard John Vulliamy Battle MBE, FRCS, LRCP, MCh Cantab, MA Cantab, BA Cantab, 1970 Gillies Gold Medal. He was an English plastic surgeon, and later President of the British Association of Plastic Surgeons.

Battle researched concussion and optic neuritis and is known for a number of discoveries:

Battle's Sign, a bruise over the mastoid process that indicates basilar skull fracture,

Battle's incision, a surgical incision used in appendectomies, with temporary medial retraction of the rectus muscle,

Battle's operation, a surgical operation for femoral hernia.