John Eric Erichsen

Who was John Eric Erichsen?

Sir John Eric Erichsen, 1st Baronet was a British surgeon.

He was born in Copenhagen, the son of Eric Erichsen, a member of a well-known Danish banking family. He studied medicine at University College, London, and at Paris, devoting himself in the early years of his career to physiology, and lecturing on general anatomy and physiology at University College Hospital.

In 1844 he was secretary to the physiological section of the British Association, and in 1845 he was awarded the Fothergillian gold medal of the Royal Humane Society for his essay on asphyxia. In 1848 he was appointed assistant surgeon at University College Hospital, and in 1850 became full surgeon and professor of surgery, his lectures and clinical teaching being much admired; and in 1875 he joined the consulting staff. In June 1876 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

His Science and Art of Surgery went through many editions. He rose to be president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1880. From 1879 to 1881 he was president of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. He was created a baronet in 1895, having been for some years surgeon-extraordinary to Queen Victoria.