Walter Butler Cheadle

Who was Walter Butler Cheadle?

Dr. Walter Butler Cheadle was an English paediatrician.

Cheadle was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, graduating M.B. in 1861 and then studied medicine at St George's Hospital Medical School in London. He interrupted his studies in 1861 to join Lord Milton on an expedition to explore Western Canada, and then on to China.

Together with William Fitzwilliam, Cheadle travelled up the Athabasca River and in 1863 they became the first "tourists" to travel through the Yellowhead Pass.

Arriving in Quebec City in July 1862, they travelled across the continent, wintering near Fort Carlton. After a challenging and at times humorous summer they reached Victoria, BC.

On returning home, with Milton, he co-authored a book on their adventures, The North-West Passage by Land, which described their expedition in considerable detail, which gained a lot of attention.

He continued his medical studies and received his doctorate in 1865, became assistant at the St Mary's Hospital in 1866 and from 1869 he was, for 23 years, at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, where he was dean of the medical faculty from 1869 to 1873. At the time of his death he was consulting physician at the St. Mary's Hospital. He was an ardent advocate of women in the study of medicine.