Dr John Davies Thomas [1844-1893]

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Home Coming meetings Past meetings About the Society Galleries of the Virtual Museum Main Galleries Medicine Surgery Anaesthesia X-rays Hospitals,other organisations Individuals of note Small Galleries Dentistry Nursing Ethnic medicine - Aboriginal - Chinese - Mediterran	Dr John Davies Thomas [1844-1893] In the South Australian Register, Tuesday 31 January, 1893 we read the sad obituary of a remarkable South Australian doctor. This obituary reads in full: THE LATE DR JOHN DAVIES THOMAS After a very long illness Dr John Davies Thomas who until three years ago was a leading physician and surgeon of Adelaide, died aged 48 years, on Monday, January 30, at his residence at Blackwood. For months past his friends had been expecting the end at any time, for the late doctor was suffering from a chronic form of paralysis. Dr. John Davies Thomas was the son of the late Rev. Thomas Thomas, of Glannant, near Swansea, Wales, and a brother of Mr. J. Edwin Thomas, accountant of Adelaide. His mother is still living, as well as another brother in Wales. He was born at Swansea, Wales, in 1844, and received his primary education in the Principality. Entering University College, London, he carried off the first silver medal in physiology and the Fellow's silver medal in clinical medicine. His academic career was most distinguished. Soon after attaining his majority he became a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in London, and in 1867 a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1867 he passed his first examination for the degree of M.B. in the University of London, and was exhibitioner and first gold medallist in organic chemistry, materia medica and pharmaceutical chemistry. Two years later he was admitted a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London, and passed his second examination for M.B., taking the University Scholarship and first gold medal in obstetric medicine, also gold medal in medicine and honours in forensic medicine. In 1870 he obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons by examination, and graduated M.D in the University of London in December, 1871. From 1870 to 1872 Dr. Thomas was resident medical officer of University College Hospital, London; he was also resident clinical assistant at Brompton Hospital for diseases of the chest, and resident physician's assistant to Sir William Jenner and Dr. Russell Reynolds, at the University College Hospital, London. In consequence of his failing health through overwork Dr. Thomas came to Australia in 1875. After a few months' residence in Victoria he was appointed Senior House Surgeon in the Adelaide Hospital, a position which he filled with great distinction for a year, when he resigned, and entered into practice with Dr. Ferguson, of Glenelg. Soon afterwards he was taken into partnership by Dr. H. T. Whittell, whose health just then was failing. Dr. Whittell, in consequence of his health, took a journey to Europe, and thereupon Dr. Thomas undertook the whole of the practice. Dr. Lendon was afterwards in partnership with him. He was for many years Honorary Physician at the Adelaide Hospital. At the Hospital as well as at the University in this city he rendered invaluable service which will not be forgotten by the present generation. From 1886 to 1890 he was joint lecturer with Dr. J. C. Verco on medicine at the University : for eight years from 1877 he was a member of the University Council. He was re-elected to that body in 1888, but resigned in 1891 when his health began to fail. During recent years the late doctor was the great authority in the colonies on hydatids — a subject which absorbed all the attention he could possibly give to it. His researches were made known in a special work which he published, and had illness not intervened another valuable contribution to medical science on the same subject would have been issued from the Press. The deceased was a Freemason, being one of the foundation members of Lodge St. Alban in Adelaide — a Lodge of which Dr. Barlow was the first Worshipful Master. The doctor was married to a daughter of the late Mr. Walter Duffield, of Para Para. Dr. Whittell, the President of the Board of Health, having been closely connected professionally with the deceased doctor, is in a position to speak with knowledge of his late friend and partner. He says — "Of course I saw a great deal of Dr. Thomas. He was a man of most extensive acquirements in all branches of the profession. He especially turned his attention to the study of hydatids, and undertook some original experiments in connection with the important study. There is no doubt, however, that he overworked himself. After a busy day at tending to his practice he would devote hours to his special study and favourite subject. The one book he published was an exceedingly able epitome of the then state of knowledge of hydatid as known to the specialists of Europe. The book also contained much original work with regard to the identity of the hydatid in man with the hydatid worms found in dogs. The study involved in the preparation of another work undoubtedly overstrained his mental powers. He was a man of very brilliant parts, and I regarded his breakdown as one of the greatest disasters the profession has had to meet in South Australia. He was a most genial man, and there never was a greater favourite with his patients, whom he spared no trouble to benefit." The funeral of the late Dr. Thomas will leave St. Paul's Church at half-past 3 o'clock this afternoon for the North Road Cemetery. On the following day the same newspaper carried an extensive report of the funeral and the names of many of the mourners who attended the funeral and internment at the North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, Adelaide. Dr John Davies Thomas, MD, FRCS With the passage of time there are many other facets about this remarkable doctor that were not revealed in this obituary and now, 130 years later, we can reassess and reappraise his substantial contributions to the Australian community and to medicine in general. STUDY OF HYDATID DISEASE We have already been introduced above to Thomas' interest in hydatid disease following his arrival in Australia in 1874. At that time Australia had one of the highest prevalence of hydatid disease in the world with hundreds dying from a miserable chronic disease with little that could be done to relieve symptoms or change its progressive course. Thomas became obsessed with learning more about the history of hydatid, the life cycle of the Echinococcus, and what could be done to prevent this horrible disease. Over the next 10 years he spent most of his leisure time reading the European literature concerning hydatids and documenting the Australian experience and experimenting and examining its means of transmission. Finally he wrote his book on hydatid disease, the first English monograph to be devoted entirely to this topic. Thomas's book is entitled "Hydatid Disease: with special reference to its prevalence in Australia". The book is 219 pages in length and contains many figures and diagrams illustrating the life cycle of the Echinococcus. The book is subdivided into six parts together with an appendix with Part 1 Introduction Part 2 Natural history of tapeworms Part 3 Natural history of Echinococcus Part 4 The geographical distribution of Echinococcus Part 5 Conditions effecting the prevalence of Echinococcus disease Part 6 Measures for the prevention of hydatid disease (registration of dogs, destruction of un-registered dogs, exclusion of dogs from slaughter houses, purity of water supply) Appendix Upon the breeding of the Taenia Echinococcus for the hydatids of man The book was published in 1884 by the Government Publisher, North Terrace, Adelaide with the Hon. John C Bray, Chief Secretary of South Australia, having sanctioned the publication and for the next forty years it was the chief text on hydatids in the English language. The book concentrates particularly on the biology of the Echinococcus, details original work concerning the transmission of the parasite from dogs to humans and emphasizes the prevention of hydatid disease. It does not deal with the diagnosis and treatments of the malady. Of note Thomas states Given a country with many sheep, etc., the organs of which are often eaten raw by the dogs, if the water supply be scanty and procured from bogs, swamps, waterholes, and dams, on the banks of which dogs may deposit the eggs to be blown in the wind or washed in by the rains, and there be dogs in abundance, we have all the conditions necessary for the spread of disease. Following the publication of this volume in 1884 Thomas continued to work on hydatid disease accumulating new data and information. This was in the anticipation of a second edition discussing the clinical aspects of hydatid disease. However his declining health particularly in the last three years of his life prevented further progress but after his death in 1893 his partner and colleague Alfred Austin Lendon (1857-1935) edited and revised his writings and papers and published a second edition posthumously in 1894. This volume was entitled "Hydatid Disease, vol II by the late John Davies Thomas. A collection of Papers on Hydatid Disease", by Lendon A A (ed), Sydney : L Bruck; London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. 1894; pp vii-xi, 150. This second volume discussed in some detail the clinical aspects of hydatid disease and various therapeutic approaches. In this volume Lendon wrote a memoir of Thomas with a description of his character by nature he was gentle and kindly, warm hearted, generous and affectionate. He was very honest, straightforward and outspoken, and, perhaps somewhat impulsive. He was sympathetic in voice and manner, as well as at heart, and was much beloved by his patients. In addition to the published books, Thomas published over 30 papers on the natural history of the hydatid parasite and disease. Most of these papers were published in local Australian journals but he did have some publications in The Lancet, The British Medical Journal and the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Thomas also gave many talks on hydatid disease to learned medical and scientific societies. The title page to Thomas’ 1884 book. An illustration of Tania Echinococcus. Today with the institution of the Thomas' recommendations regarding registration of farm dogs, destruction of un-registered dogs, prevention of dogs eating uncooked offal, provision of clean water to dogs and more recently the regular de-worming of dogs, hydatid disease is a thing of the past; it is rare that this disease raises its ugly head in our generation. Indeed this author in his 50 years of medical practice has only encountered hydatid disease in two patients, one dying from the complications of an operation to remove a large liver cyst. INTEREST IN INHALATIONAL ANAESTHESIA From 1870-1872 Thomas worked as a resident medical officer at the University Hospital, London. During this period he was also appointed the Hospital's chloroformist providing inhalational anaesthesia as required, the anaesthetic qualities of chloroform having been first described in 1842. In March 1872 Thomas described a new two-ounce drop-bottle for the application of chloroform that he had earlier invented. Mayer and Meltzer, a local London Company manufactured this drop-bottle for the commercial market. Thomas also became interested in inhalational anaesthetic mortality rates perhaps precipitated by the death of one of his own patients under chloroform. In 1875 whilst working briefly in Victoria Thomas published a seminal paper in The Australian Medical Journal entitled "A Consideration of the Respective Merits of Chloroform and Vinic Ether as General Anaesthetics". In this report Thomas emphasised the almost ten fold difference in mortality between ether (1:23,204) and chloroform (1: 2723). This paper was later reprinted for distribution in all hospitals in Victoria. Dr R P Haridas, specialist anaesthetist, has recently published a fine review of Thomas' contribution to inhalational anaesthesia and states Thomas had almost certainly given greater thought to the safety of anaesthesia that any other doctor in the Australian colonies at that time. His experience and intellect could have made him a leader in efforts to make anaesthesia safer, especially if he had remained in London. However, in Australia in the 1870s, there were no prospects for hospital appointments for a doctor who had a special interest in anaesthesia. The first appointments of anaesthetists at Australian hospitals would be made in 1888, more than a decade after Thomas' arrival in the colony. Although Thomas did not publish any papers on anaesthesia after 1876, he may have been influential at the Adelaide Hospital in ensuring that ether was administered more often that chloroform. Thomas' new chloroform drop-bottle. The title page to his seminal 1875 paper NATURE OF THOMAS’ TERMINAL ILLNESS The cause of Thomas' final 3 year chronic paralytic and dementing illness is unclear. In some accounts it is described as a general paralysis. Its severity was such that it required him fully retire from active work and as a lecturer at the medical school, but he was able to make a short trip to New Zealand before moving into a residence in Crafers in the Adelaide Hills. He then moved into his final residence at Blackwood in Adelaide. It was in this house that he died aged 48 years, after his a very long illness. In my copy of his original 1884 book Hydatid Disease the previous owner has annotated that his death was due to GPI (general paresis (paralysis) of the insane or syphilitic paresis) a diagnosis apparently made by his practice partner, Dr A A Lendon as documented in Lendon's unpublished autobiography. THE Dr DAVIES THOMAS SCHOLARSHIP In 1896 Mrs Eleanor Davies-Thomas donated £400 (equivalent in purchasing power to ~ $120,000 in todays money) to the University to establish an annual Scholarship in the medical course in memory of her husband, the late Dr Davies-Thomas. Forty years later, in 1934, Mrs Davies-Thomas bequeathed a further £200 to the University to augment the Davies-Thomas Scholarship fund. This fund now underpins the Dr Davies-Thomas prize that is awarded annually to the medical student who scores the highest marks in the Second Professional Examination (Fourth Year). Quite by chance I realised that I was awarded this prize back in 1967 - and until I wrote this account I had no idea whom Dr Davies Thomas was and the reason for his prize! Dr Davies Thomas' headstone in the North Road cemetery, Nailsworth, SA. References: Rajesh P Haridas. John Davies Thomas: Chloroformist in London and pioneer South Australian doctor. Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, 2021,vol 49 (IS) pp 6-16. This paper has an extensive number of references concerning the life of Dr Davies Thomas Donald Simpson. The Adelaide Medical School, 1885-1914; MD thesis, University of Adelaide, 2000, p 122. Cumpston J H L. Health and Disease in Australia, A history, ed M J Lewis, AGPS Press publication, 1989, pp 350-353. Peter Roberts-Thomson (President SAMHS 2022-2025) -o0o-

In the South Australian Register, Tuesday 31 January, 1893 we read the sad obituary of a remarkable South Australian doctor. This obituary reads in full:

THE LATE DR JOHN DAVIES THOMAS

After a very long illness Dr John Davies Thomas who until three years ago was a leading physician and surgeon of Adelaide, died aged 48 years, on Monday, January 30, at his residence at Blackwood. For months past his friends had been expecting the end at any time, for the late doctor was suffering from a chronic form of paralysis. Dr. John Davies Thomas was the son of the late Rev. Thomas Thomas, of Glannant, near Swansea, Wales, and a brother of Mr. J. Edwin Thomas, accountant of Adelaide. His mother is still living, as well as another brother in Wales. He was born at Swansea, Wales, in 1844, and received his primary education in the Principality. Entering University College, London, he carried off the first silver medal in physiology and the Fellow's silver medal in clinical medicine. His academic career was most distinguished. Soon after attaining his majority he became a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in London, and in 1867 a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1867 he passed his first examination for the degree of M.B. in the University of London, and was exhibitioner and first gold medallist in organic chemistry, materia medica and pharmaceutical chemistry. Two years later he was admitted a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London, and passed his second examination for M.B., taking the University Scholarship and first gold medal in obstetric medicine, also gold medal in medicine and honours in forensic medicine.

In 1870 he obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons by examination, and graduated M.D in the University of London in December, 1871. From 1870 to 1872 Dr. Thomas was resident medical officer of University College Hospital, London; he was also resident clinical assistant at Brompton Hospital for diseases of the chest, and resident physician's assistant to Sir William Jenner and Dr. Russell Reynolds, at the University College Hospital, London.

In consequence of his failing health through overwork Dr. Thomas came to Australia in 1875. After a few months' residence in Victoria he was appointed Senior House Surgeon in the Adelaide Hospital, a position which he filled with great distinction for a year, when he resigned, and entered into practice with Dr. Ferguson, of Glenelg. Soon afterwards he was taken into partnership by Dr. H. T. Whittell, whose health just then was failing. Dr. Whittell, in consequence of his health, took a journey to Europe, and thereupon Dr. Thomas undertook the whole of the practice. Dr. Lendon was afterwards in partnership with him. He was for many years Honorary Physician at the Adelaide Hospital.

At the Hospital as well as at the University in this city he rendered invaluable service which will not be forgotten by the present generation. From 1886 to 1890 he was joint lecturer with Dr. J. C. Verco on medicine at the University : for eight years from 1877 he was a member of the University Council. He was re-elected to that body in 1888, but resigned in 1891 when his health began to fail.

During recent years the late doctor was the great authority in the colonies on hydatids — a subject which absorbed all the attention he could possibly give to it. His researches were made known in a special work which he published, and had illness not intervened another valuable contribution to medical science on the same subject would have been issued from the Press. The deceased was a Freemason, being one of the foundation members of Lodge St. Alban in Adelaide — a Lodge of which Dr. Barlow was the first Worshipful Master. The doctor was married to a daughter of the late Mr. Walter Duffield, of Para Para.

Dr. Whittell, the President of the Board of Health, having been closely connected professionally with the deceased doctor, is in a position to speak with knowledge of his late friend and partner. He says —
"Of course I saw a great deal of Dr. Thomas. He was a man of most extensive acquirements in all branches of the profession. He especially turned his attention to the study of hydatids, and undertook some original experiments in connection with the important study. There is no doubt, however, that he overworked himself. After a busy day at tending to his practice he would devote hours to his special study and favourite subject. The one book he published was an exceedingly able epitome of the then state of knowledge of hydatid as known to the specialists of Europe. The book also contained much original work with regard to the identity of the hydatid in man with the hydatid worms found in dogs. The study involved in the preparation of another work undoubtedly overstrained his mental powers. He was a man of very brilliant parts, and I regarded his breakdown as one of the greatest disasters the profession has had to meet in South Australia. He was a most genial man, and there never was a greater favourite with his patients, whom he spared no trouble to benefit."

The funeral of the late Dr. Thomas will leave St. Paul's Church at half-past 3 o'clock this afternoon for the North Road Cemetery.

On the following day the same newspaper carried an extensive report of the funeral and the names of many of the mourners who attended the funeral and internment at the North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, Adelaide.

With the passage of time there are many other facets about this remarkable doctor that were not revealed in this obituary and now, 130 years later, we can reassess and reappraise his substantial contributions to the Australian community and to medicine in general.

STUDY OF HYDATID DISEASE

We have already been introduced above to Thomas' interest in hydatid disease following his arrival in Australia in 1874. At that time Australia had one of the highest prevalence of hydatid disease in the world with hundreds dying from a miserable chronic disease with little that could be done to relieve symptoms or change its progressive course. Thomas became obsessed with learning more about the history of hydatid, the life cycle of the Echinococcus, and what could be done to prevent this horrible disease. Over the next 10 years he spent most of his leisure time reading the European literature concerning hydatids and documenting the Australian experience and experimenting and examining its means of transmission. Finally he wrote his book on hydatid disease, the first English monograph to be devoted entirely to this topic.

Thomas's book is entitled "Hydatid Disease: with special reference to its prevalence in Australia". The book is 219 pages in length and contains many figures and diagrams illustrating the life cycle of the Echinococcus. The book is subdivided into six parts together with an appendix with

The book was published in 1884 by the Government Publisher, North Terrace, Adelaide with the Hon. John C Bray, Chief Secretary of South Australia, having sanctioned the publication and for the next forty years it was the chief text on hydatids in the English language. The book concentrates particularly on the biology of the Echinococcus, details original work concerning the transmission of the parasite from dogs to humans and emphasizes the prevention of hydatid disease. It does not deal with the diagnosis and treatments of the malady. Of note Thomas states Given a country with many sheep, etc., the organs of which are often eaten raw by the dogs, if the water supply be scanty and procured from bogs, swamps, waterholes, and dams, on the banks of which dogs may deposit the eggs to be blown in the wind or washed in by the rains, and there be dogs in abundance, we have all the conditions necessary for the spread of disease.

Following the publication of this volume in 1884 Thomas continued to work on hydatid disease accumulating new data and information. This was in the anticipation of a second edition discussing the clinical aspects of hydatid disease. However his declining health particularly in the last three years of his life prevented further progress but after his death in 1893 his partner and colleague Alfred Austin Lendon (1857-1935) edited and revised his writings and papers and published a second edition posthumously in 1894. This volume was entitled "Hydatid Disease, vol II by the late John Davies Thomas. A collection of Papers on Hydatid Disease", by Lendon A A (ed), Sydney : L Bruck; London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. 1894; pp vii-xi, 150. This second volume discussed in some detail the clinical aspects of hydatid disease and various therapeutic approaches. In this volume Lendon wrote a memoir of Thomas with a description of his character by nature he was gentle and kindly, warm hearted, generous and affectionate. He was very honest, straightforward and outspoken, and, perhaps somewhat impulsive. He was sympathetic in voice and manner, as well as at heart, and was much beloved by his patients.

In addition to the published books, Thomas published over 30 papers on the natural history of the hydatid parasite and disease. Most of these papers were published in local Australian journals but he did have some publications in The Lancet, The British Medical Journal and the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Thomas also gave many talks on hydatid disease to learned medical and scientific societies.

Today with the institution of the Thomas' recommendations regarding registration of farm dogs, destruction of un-registered dogs, prevention of dogs eating uncooked offal, provision of clean water to dogs and more recently the regular de-worming of dogs, hydatid disease is a thing of the past; it is rare that this disease raises its ugly head in our generation. Indeed this author in his 50 years of medical practice has only encountered hydatid disease in two patients, one dying from the complications of an operation to remove a large liver cyst.

INTEREST IN INHALATIONAL ANAESTHESIA

From 1870-1872 Thomas worked as a resident medical officer at the University Hospital, London. During this period he was also appointed the Hospital's chloroformist providing inhalational anaesthesia as required, the anaesthetic qualities of chloroform having been first described in 1842. In March 1872 Thomas described a new two-ounce drop-bottle for the application of chloroform that he had earlier invented. Mayer and Meltzer, a local London Company manufactured this drop-bottle for the commercial market.

Thomas also became interested in inhalational anaesthetic mortality rates perhaps precipitated by the death of one of his own patients under chloroform. In 1875 whilst working briefly in Victoria Thomas published a seminal paper in The Australian Medical Journal entitled "A Consideration of the Respective Merits of Chloroform and Vinic Ether as General Anaesthetics". In this report Thomas emphasised the almost ten fold difference in mortality between ether (1:23,204) and chloroform (1: 2723). This paper was later reprinted for distribution in all hospitals in Victoria.

Dr R P Haridas, specialist anaesthetist, has recently published a fine review of Thomas' contribution to inhalational anaesthesia and states Thomas had almost certainly given greater thought to the safety of anaesthesia that any other doctor in the Australian colonies at that time. His experience and intellect could have made him a leader in efforts to make anaesthesia safer, especially if he had remained in London. However, in Australia in the 1870s, there were no prospects for hospital appointments for a doctor who had a special interest in anaesthesia. The first appointments of anaesthetists at Australian hospitals would be made in 1888, more than a decade after Thomas' arrival in the colony. Although Thomas did not publish any papers on anaesthesia after 1876, he may have been influential at the Adelaide Hospital in ensuring that ether was administered more often that chloroform.

NATURE OF THOMAS’ TERMINAL ILLNESS

The cause of Thomas' final 3 year chronic paralytic and dementing illness is unclear. In some accounts it is described as a general paralysis. Its severity was such that it required him fully retire from active work and as a lecturer at the medical school, but he was able to make a short trip to New Zealand before moving into a residence in Crafers in the Adelaide Hills. He then moved into his final residence at Blackwood in Adelaide. It was in this house that he died aged 48 years, after his a very long illness. In my copy of his original 1884 book Hydatid Disease the previous owner has annotated that his death was due to GPI (general paresis (paralysis) of the insane or syphilitic paresis) a diagnosis apparently made by his practice partner, Dr A A Lendon as documented in Lendon's unpublished autobiography.

THE Dr DAVIES THOMAS SCHOLARSHIP

In 1896 Mrs Eleanor Davies-Thomas donated £400 (equivalent in purchasing power to ~ $120,000 in todays money) to the University to establish an annual Scholarship in the medical course in memory of her husband, the late Dr Davies-Thomas. Forty years later, in 1934, Mrs Davies-Thomas bequeathed a further £200 to the University to augment the Davies-Thomas Scholarship fund. This fund now underpins the Dr Davies-Thomas prize that is awarded annually to the medical student who scores the highest marks in the Second Professional Examination (Fourth Year). Quite by chance I realised that I was awarded this prize back in 1967 - and until I wrote this account I had no idea whom Dr Davies Thomas was and the reason for his prize!