| Authorised form of name | Cheselden; William (1688 - 1752) |
| Dates | 1688 - 1752 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Burrough, in Somerby parish, Leicestershire, England |
| Date of birth | 19 October 1688 |
| Place of death | Bath, Somerset |
| Date of death | 10 April 1752 |
| Dates and places | Burial:
The grounds of Chelsea hospital |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
| Activity | Education:
Apprenticed to Mr Wilkes of Leicester, later to William Cowper of London (1703) and Mr Ferne, surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital
Career:
Lecturer on Anatomy (1711); Surgeon in Colonel Pocock's Regiment (1717); Assistant Surgeon (1718), then Principal Surgeon (1719-1738), St Thomas's Hospital, London; Surgeon (1724-1733), then Consulting Surgeon (1733-1739), Westminster Hospital; devised new operations for the stone (one of which he performed in 54 seconds) and for cataract; the most celebrated surgeon and anatomist in England, many foreign doctors came to see him operate; John Douglas (FRS 1720) accused him unjustly of plagiarism in his 'Treatise on the high operation for the stone'; attended Sir Isaac Newton (FRS 1672) on his deathbed; Surgeon to Queen Caroline (1727); Surgeon (1733-1737), then Consulting Surgeon (1737), St George's Hospital, London; Surgeon, Chelsea Hospital (1737)
Memberships:
Company of Barber-Surgeons; Academie Royale des Sciences (Corresponding, 1729); Royal Academy of Surgery, Paris (first foreign associate) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 30/11/1711 |
| Relationships | Son of George Cheselden and his wife, Deborah, daughter of Major William Hubbert of Rearsby, Lincolnshire; married Deborah Knight of London |
| Sources | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Hirsch; Dalton George I; Thomas
References:
John H Appleby, 'Human Curiosities and the Royal Society, 1699-1751' in NR 1996 vol 50 pp 13-27
Obituary, Gentleman's Magazine (1732), p.192.
P Fontes da Costa, 'The Culture of Curiosity at The Royal Society in the first half of the eighteenth century', NR 2002 vo l56 pp 147-166
Notes:
Proposed by Henry Plumptre |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/40161749 |
| Royal Society code | NA6580 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| EL/F2/47 | John Ferguson to William Cheselden | 18 February 1734 |
| IM/000825 | Cheselden, William | nd |
| IM/000827 | Cheselden, William | nd |
| LBO/23/58 | Copy letter from John Cagua to William Cheselden | |
| EL/M2/59 | Alexander Munro, dated at Edinburgh, to William Cheselden | 28 May 1723 |
| CLP/12ii/4 | Paper, 'Case of a fracture in the scull [sic]' by William Cheselden | [1721] |
| L&P/1/445 | Paper, 'Of a case of lateral cutting for the stone' by William Cheselden | 1745 |
| L&P/1/446 | Paper, 'Stones, 214 in all, found in the bladder' by William Cheselden | 1745 |
| CLP/12i/72 | List, anatomical observations by WC [William Cheselden] | [1710s] |
| CLP/23i/41 | Paper, 'Case of Master and Miss Eyles' by Mr [William] Cheselden | 1725 |
| CLP/22ii/61 | Paper, Account of William Cheselden's 'Osteographia or Anatomy of the bones' by John Belchier | 1733 |
| DM/5/100 | A list of benefactors to the Library, to the value of £5 or upwards at one time | c.1737 |
| CLP/12i/71/3 | Plate, aorta, cerebral falx, and bone between ventricles of heart by unknown artist | [1712] |
| CLP/12i/71/1 | Manuscript, 'Description of the stones on the aorta' by Will [William] Cheselden | [1712] |
| CLP/12i/71 | Paper, 'Description of the stones on the aorta' by Will [William] Cheselden | [1712] |
| CLP/12i/71/2 | Plate, diseased double spleens by unknown artist | [1712] |
| RBO/13/95 | 'An Account of some Observations made by a young Gentleman who was born blind, or lost his Sight so early that he had no remembrance of ever having seen and was couched between 13 and 14 years of Age' by William Cheselden, surgeon to her majesty | 1728 |