Christopher Heath

Christopher Heath FRCS (13 March 1835 – 8 August 1905) was an English anatomist and general surgeon

Life Born in London on 13 March 1835, he was the son of Christopher Heath, minister in the Catholic Apostolic Church, by Eliza Barclay his wife. He entered King's College School in May 1845, and after apprenticeship to Nathaniel Davidson of Charles Street, Manchester Square, began his medical studies at King's College, London, in October 1851. Here he gained the Leathes and Warneford prizes for proficiency in medical subjects and divinity, and was admitted an associate in 1855.

From 11 March to 25 September 1855 Heath served as hospital dresser on board HMS Imperieuse, during the Crimean War. He became M.R.C.S. England in 1856, and F.R.C.S. in 1860. He was appointed assistant demonstrator of anatomy at King's College, and served as house surgeon at King's College Hospital to Sir William Fergusson from May to November 1857. In 1856 he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy at Westminster Hospital, where he was made lecturer on anatomy and assistant surgeon in 1862. In 1858 he was consulting surgeon to the St. George and St. James Dispensary; in 1860 he was appointed surgeon to the West London Hospital at Hammersmith, and in 1870 he was surgeon to the Hospital for Women in Soho. Meanwhile, in 1866 he was appointed assistant surgeon and teacher of operative surgery at University College Hospital, becoming full surgeon in 1871 on the retirement of Sir John Eric Erichsen, and Holme professor of clinical surgery in 1875. He resigned his hospital appointments in 1900, when he was elected consulting surgeon and emeritus professor of clinical surgery.

Legacy A marble bas-relief portrait by Hope Pinker commemorated Heath in the hall of the medical school buildings of University College Hospital.

Family Heath married (1) Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Jasper Peck; and (2) Gabrielle Nora, daughter of Captain Joseph Maynard, R.N., and left a widow, five sons, and one daughter.