Thomas King Chambers clearly intended to be a physician of note and at times indeed he was mentioned in the same breath as Sir James Paget (1814–1899), Sir Henry Acland (1815–1900) and Francis Anstie (1833–1874). At the time of his death his career was pronounced ‘less than brilliant though far from inglorious’. He had made all the right political moves—networking through the medical societies, marrying well and even accompanying the Prince of Wales on his first foreign tour. He wanted to be more than a society doctor, however: he published his clinical lectures and original research, proposed a new paradigm for medicine that he dubbed ‘the renewal of life’ and found his ideas taken up enthusiastically in the United States. Alas, his career foundered when he suffered an aneurysm and underwent amputation through the thigh. Nevertheless, he made significant contributions to the profession through his service on the General Medical Council and to medical education, in particular to medical education for women, through his strong support of the London School of Medicine for Women. To examine his life is to revisit what makes a life meaningful and worthwhile, for Chambers’ life, unlike his body, is remarkably whole.
OslerW. Modern medicine1907; Vol 1. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers, pp. 457–457.
11.
Chambers TK. Experiments in artificial digestion. Lancet 1857; 69: 522–524. If necessary, he included himself among his subjects. See the details about Test IV, subject TKC, in Clinical Lectures, 4th ed. pp. 569–569.
12.
ChambersTK. Decennium pathologicum I. Medical Times and Gazette1852; 5ns: 87–87.
13.
Hospital statistics. Medical Times and Gazette1852; 5ns: 220–220.
14.
ChambersTK. Statistics on the treatment of rheumatic fever. British Medical Journal1863; 2: 237–237.
15.
Reports of societies. Medical Times and Gazette1861; 1: 505–505.
16.
The Clinical Society of London. Medical Times and Gazette1867; 2: 603–603.
17.
The Royal Society of Medicine. Lancet1869; 93: 652–654.
18.
Conversazione at the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Medical Times and Gazette1872; 1: 689–689.
19.
Obituary, TK Chambers. Lancet1889; 134: 573–573.
20.
20 Soho Square Area: Portland Estate: No. 1 Greek Street: The House of St. Barnabas-in-Soho. Survey of London: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho1966, pp. 88–106. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41052 (accessed 16 July 2013).
21.
Medical news. Lancet1859; 73: 46–46.
22.
Medical appointments in the household of the Prince of Wales. Medical Times and Gazette1863; 1: 190–190.
23.
Margaret Gatty to William Henry Harvey, 11 April 1863 HAS 48:471–473 Sheffield Archives.
24.
ChambersTK. Medical theories for the bedside. Introductory clinical lecture, St Mary's Hospital. Medical Times and Gazette1861; 2: 449–450.
25.
ChambersTK. Clinical lecture on the renewal of life in continued fever, delivered at St Mary's Hospital. Medical Times and Gazette1861; 2: 523–523.
26.
‘Tis life, whereof our nerves are scant,/Oh life, not death, for which we pant; /More life, and fuller, that I want. Tennyson, ‘The Two Voices’ (398–399).
27.
ChambersTK. Lectures, chiefly clinical, 4th ed. London: John Churchill and Sons, 1865, pp. 603–603.
28.
ChambersTK. Restorative medicine, Philadelphia: Henry C Lea, 1871, pp. 27–27. 15, 16, 7–8, 67–69, 29, 41–42, 62.
29.
ForbesJTweedieAConollyJ. The Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine. Four volumes, London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper, 1833–1835.
30.
ReynoldsJR. A System of Medicine. Four volumes, London: Macmillan, pp. 1866–1879.
31.
For more on the movement, see JS Haller Jr. Medical protestants: The eclectics in American Medicine, 1825–1939. Carbondale: Southern Illinois Press, 1994 and A profile in alternative medicine: The Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Kent OH: Kent State University Press, 1999.
32.
Editorial. Eclectic Medical Journal1866; 25: 90–90.
33.
RothsteinWG. Rev Haller JS Jr. A profile in alternative medicine: The Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati. Isis2003; 94: 540–540.
34.
Review. Eclectic Medical Journal1867; 26: 145–572.
35.
The week. Medical Times and Gazette1864; 1: 485–485.
Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Medical Times and Gazette1876; 1: 671–671.
39.
Medical annotations: Educational changes at Oxford. Lancet1858; 71: 609–609.
40.
Thirty-third session of the General Medical Council. Medical Times and Gazette1882; 2: 38–38. The last eight words were withdrawn from the motion before it was put and carried unanimously.
41.
General Medical Council. Medical Times and Gazette1884; 1: 474–474.
42.
Minutes of the General Medical Council for the Year 1883, London: Spottiswoode, 1883, pp. 6469–7189–90.
43.
Chambers quoted in London letter. Philadelphia Medical Times and Register1882; 21: 92–92.
44.
Medical annotations. Lancet1862; 80(2027): 17–123.
45.
General Medical Council. Medical Times and Gazette1875; 2: 10–10.
46.
Jex-BlakeS. Medical women: A thesis and a history, Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson, and Ferrier, 1886, pp. 177207–207. 207; Notes: 89, 90.
47.
‘If the expense is no object,’ remarked Chambers in his Clinical Lectures (4th ed.:577) ‘thoroughly good champagne exhilarates more, is easier digested, and does the good without the harm better than any of its rivals’. Frederick de Bary, sole agents for Mumm in the United States and Canada, advertised in several North American medical journals and quoted Chambers among others to promote its sales. See, for example, Canada Medical Record, October 1888.
48.
ChambersTK. A manual of diet in health and disease, 2nd ed. London: Smith and Elder, 1876, pp. 247–247.
49.
British Medical Association. Lancet1869; 94: 253–253.
