Charles Alexander Cameron

Sir Charles Alexander Cameron, CB (16 July 1830 – 27 February 1921) was an Irish physician, chemist and writer prominent in the adoption of medical hygiene. For over fifty years he had charge of the Public Health Department of Dublin Corporation. He was elected President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1885.

Early life and education

Cameron was born 1830 in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Captain Ewen Cameron of Scotland and Belinda Smith of County Cavan. He was descended from Clan Cameron of Lochiel.

He received his early education in chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry in Dublin. In 1852 he was elected professor to the newly founded Dublin Chemical Society while continuing to study medicine at several schools and hospitals in Dublin. In 1854 he went to Germany where he graduated in philosophy and medicine. While there he published his translations of German poems and songs.

In 1862, he married Lucie Macnamara of Dublin.

His eldest son, Captain Charles J. Cameron, died in a boating accident in Athlone in 1913, while another son, Lieutenant Ewen Henry Cameron, shot himself in a train in Newcastle in 1915 while on the way to the Western Front. Two sons, Edwin and Mervyn, died of pulmonary tuberculosis in their 20s.

Cameron was a leading Freemason in Dublin, He was first initiated as a member of Fidelity Lodge No. 125 in 1858, and he was also a member of the Duke of York Lodge No. 25, serving as its secretary for over 50 years.

Arms

Works

Reminiscences of Sir Charles A. Cameron, CB, 1913 History of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and of the Irish Schools of Medicine 1886