James Hobson Aveling

James Hobson Aveling (25 January 1828 – 12 December 1892) was a British obstetrician and gynaecologist, author and inventor of medical devices. He practised in the Sheffield area and later in London, and was instrumental in founding two women's hospitals, the Sheffield Hospital for Women – one of the earliest such hospitals in England – and the Chelsea Hospital for Women. He advocated for better training and supervision of midwives. An innovative practitioner, he was one of the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic in childbirth and also experimented with blood transfusion. His inventions include a device for treating uterine inversion. He wrote medical monographs and books on the history of obstetrics, most notably English Midwives, their History and Prospects and The Chemberlens and the Midwifery Forceps (1882), and was the founding editor of The Obstetrical Journal of Great Britain and Ireland (1873–76). Archaeology was among his interests; he was an elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (1877) and published a history of Roche Abbey (1870).

Early life and education James Hobson Aveling was born on 25 January 1828 in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, variously given as in Elm, near Wisbech, The repositor – a wooden cup supported by elastic attached to sigmoid-shaped metal supports – was the most successful device for cases of uterine inversion, and was still remembered in 1967. He was among the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic in childbirth,