Thomas Heazle Parke

Thomas Heazle Parke (1857–1893) was an Irish physician, British Army officer and author who was known for his work as a doctor on the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition.

Early life Parke was born on 27 November 1857 at Clogher House in Kilmore, County Roscommon, Ireland. and was brought up in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. He attended the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin, graduating in 1878. Following the expedition, Parke spent the next few years stationed in Alexandria, where he notably introduced fox hunting to Egypt, becoming master of the Alexandria Hunt Club. and was awarded gold medals from the British Medical Association and the Royal Geographical Society. He published several books, including My Personal Experiences in Equatorial Africa (published in 1891) and A Guide to Health in Africa.

In August 1893, Parke visited William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans in Ardrishaig, Scotland. He died during that visit on 11 August 1893, presumably due to a seizure. His coffin was brought back to Ireland, where he received a military funeral as it passed from the Dublin docks to Broadstone railway station. Parke was buried near his birthplace in Drumsna, County Roscommon.

Honours A bronze statue of Parke stands on Merrion Street in Dublin, outside the Natural History Museum. thumb Parke's statue on Merrion Street, DublinOn the granite pedestal is a bronze plaque depicting the incident on 13 August 1887 when Parke sucked the poison from an arrow wound in the chest of Capt. William G. Stairs to save his life. He is also commemorated by a bust in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.