Henry Hill Hickman

Henry Hill Hickman (born Henry Hickman) (27 January 1800 – 2 April 1830) was an English physician and promoter of anaesthesia.

Life

He was born to tenant farmers at Lady Halton, (near Bromfield, just outside Ludlow, Shropshire). He was the third son and fifth child of thirteen children of John Hickman and his wife Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Hill of nearby Stanton Lacy. He was baptised on 30 January 1800 at Bromfield

After qualifying, he began his medical career in 1821, with his first practice in Ludlow and in early 1823 he began important animal experiments in anaesthesia. He would make the animal insensible, with carbon dioxide, known by the historical name carbonic acid gas at the time, then amputate a part of the animal to see whether the animal could feel pain under this 'anaesthesia'. Later scientists used nitrous oxide, ether, and chloroform to achieve similar effects.

While living and practising in Shifnal, on 21 February 1824, Hickman wrote up his work and sent it to Thomas Andrew Knight of Downton Castle, near Ludlow, one of the Presidents of the Royal Society, perhaps intending that the information would reach Sir Humphry Davy. It is not known if Davy ever saw the pamphlet, and a claim on a surviving pamphlet of his treatise that it had been read by Davy before Knight, is crossed out, indicating it had not been publicly read.

Footnotes