Louis Borchardt

Louis Borchardt (1816/7 – 15 November 1883) was a German-born physician and paediatrician, He was an active supporter of suffrage and an advocate for women's equal standing in the medical profession. Borchardt was also Vice President of the Union and Emancipation Society, which called for the restoration of the American Union and the end of slavery in the US. His British Medical Journal obituary described Borchardt as identifying 'throughout his career, with the liberal side of every public question'. It went on:At the Association meeting in Bath in 1878, he was a convinced advocate for the admission of medical women to an equal footing with medical men in the profession and the Association. He was an active and energetic friend of the organisation of provident medical dispensaries. He never shied away from facing unpopularity and did not hesitate to publicly advocate opinions that he believed to be just and liberal, even in the face of hostile majorities. Borchardt was active in Liberal politics: President of the Withington branch of the South East Lancashire Liberal Association, and chairman of the St Ann's branch of the Manchester Liberal Association. He also became, in 1860, the first chairman of the Manchester Schiller Anstalt, an Anglo-German gentleman's club whose members included Friedrich Engels. Borchardt was acquainted with both Engels and Karl Marx and is mentioned in their correspondence.

Death and legacy Borchardt played a significant role in moving the in-patient accommodation of what was then the General Hospital and Dispensary for Sick Children to a healthier rural site at Pendlebury. In 1876, when the new hospital, now the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, was nearing completion, he intended to retire but was asked to stay on until the new building was opened. The naming of a ward for Borchardt and the placement of his bust in the hospital demonstrated the regard in which his colleagues held him.

Borchardt died at his home in Fallowfield, Manchester, on 15 November 1883. He was buried five days later in the nonconformist section of Southern Cemetery, Manchester. An obituary printed in the British Medical Journal said:He leaves behind him the reputation of a man of honour, honesty, courage, public spirit, and intelligence. Such characteristics are apt to lead a man through thorny paths, but they also lead him to the goal of duty and usefulness. Dr. Borchardt won the palm he coveted; he lived honoured and respected, and in his death, he leaves a name which his friends and family will long cherish.