The Rise and Tragic Fall of Charles Averill MRCS (1796-1830), Gentleman Surgeon of Cheltenham.

Abstract

Charles Averill (1796-1830) was a Cheltenham surgeon who wrote one of the early textbooks for medical students promoting the increased use of human dissection to specifically improve the surgical techniques of the time. The success of this new type of medical text led to three editions being printed both in Britain, North America and Europe. Whilst holding the post of Surgeon at the Cheltenham Dispensary, he also became the first joint curator of the anatomy museum and published a design for the first modern operating table. Having been trained by Sir Astley Cooper, the two surgeons retained a strong professional connection until Averill's tragic fall from a horse at the age of 33. Averill and his achievements remain absent from medical history due to the very fragmented evidence that surrounds his short life.