Ernest Abraham Hart

Who was Ernest Abraham Hart?

Ernest Abraham Hart was an English medical journalist.

Hart was born in London, the son of a Jewish dentist. He was educated at the City of London school, and became a student at St Georges hospital. In 1856 he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, making a specialty of diseases of the eye. He was appointed ophthalmic surgeon at St Mary's hospital at the age of 28, and occupied various other posts, introducing into ophthalmic practice some modifications since widely adopted. His name, too, is associated with a method of treating popliteal aneurism, which he was the first to use in Great Britain.

His real life-work, however, was as a medical journalist, beginning with the Lancet in 1857. He was appointed editor of the British Medical Journal on 11 August 1866. During this time the British Medical Journal's harsh criticism of Isaac Baker Brown lead to the complete destruction of Brown's career. As editor Hart can be held accountable in part for this. His campaigning editorials were sometimes vicious and usually sententious. On 22 November 1866 Hart was appointed as a poorlaw inspector as his colleague William Orlando Markham rejected the position.