Papers of Joseph Lister
TitlePapers of Joseph Lister
ReferenceMS0021
Level of descriptionfonds
Date1850-1912
Admin./ biographical historySir Joseph Lister was a General Surgeon, Pathologist, and Medical Scientist. He was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1852). He was educated at London's University College Hospital, graduating with a B.A. and M.B. in 1852.
In 1853 Lister moved to Edinburgh to build on his surgical experiences. On arriving in Edinburgh he was introduced to James Syme, and became his dresser and later House Surgeon. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1855, and was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary in 1856. During this time Lister began to publish papers, and in 1857 he was invited to read his paper 'The Early Stages of Inflammation' before the Royal Society.
In 1856 Lister married Agnes Syme (died 1893), the eldest daughter of James Syme. In 1860 Lister was appointed as Chair of Surgery at Glasgow University and became a Fellow of the Royal Society. A year later he was appointed Surgeon at the Glasgow Infirmary. In 1869 Lister returned to Edinburgh where he was appointed Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery, a post he held until 1877.
In 1877 Lister moved to London to become Professor of Surgery at King's College, until he retired in 1892. During their time in London Lister lived with his wife at 12 Park Crescent, Portland Place, where he established his own laboratory in order to continue his research and teaching as well as operating his own private practice.
In 1878 Lister was appointed Serjeant-Surgeon to Queen Victoria and in 1880 he was elected to the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1883 a Baronetcy was conferred upon him, and in 1897 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lister of Lyme Regis. In 1891 he helped to found the British Institute of Preventative Medicine for which he served as the first president. In 1897 its name was changed to the Jenner Institute before being renamed again in 1903 to the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine.
In 1895 he was elected president of the Royal Society. In 1902 Lister was one of the 12 original members of the newly constituted Order of Merit and on the occasion of Lister's 80th Birthday in 1907 he received the freedom of the City of London. In 1908 Lister moved from London to Park House, Walmer, Kent where he remained until his death on 10 February 1912.
Lister worked on antiseptics in surgery, continuing the research of Louis Pasteur on air-borne organisms. He realised that some organisms could cause post-operative wound infections such as tetanus, blood-poisoning, and gangrene. He countered this by using carbolic acid soaked in lint or calico around the wound and replaced slow-to-absorb silk stitching with cat-gut stitching which absorbed the carbolic acid more easily. He also experimented with gauze swabs and a disinfectant spray for operating theatres.
For more information on Lister's life and career, please visit his profile on Plarr's Lives of the Fellows: https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/lives/search/results?qu=joseph+lister&te=ASSET.
In 1853 Lister moved to Edinburgh to build on his surgical experiences. On arriving in Edinburgh he was introduced to James Syme, and became his dresser and later House Surgeon. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1855, and was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary in 1856. During this time Lister began to publish papers, and in 1857 he was invited to read his paper 'The Early Stages of Inflammation' before the Royal Society.
In 1856 Lister married Agnes Syme (died 1893), the eldest daughter of James Syme. In 1860 Lister was appointed as Chair of Surgery at Glasgow University and became a Fellow of the Royal Society. A year later he was appointed Surgeon at the Glasgow Infirmary. In 1869 Lister returned to Edinburgh where he was appointed Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery, a post he held until 1877.
In 1877 Lister moved to London to become Professor of Surgery at King's College, until he retired in 1892. During their time in London Lister lived with his wife at 12 Park Crescent, Portland Place, where he established his own laboratory in order to continue his research and teaching as well as operating his own private practice.
In 1878 Lister was appointed Serjeant-Surgeon to Queen Victoria and in 1880 he was elected to the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1883 a Baronetcy was conferred upon him, and in 1897 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lister of Lyme Regis. In 1891 he helped to found the British Institute of Preventative Medicine for which he served as the first president. In 1897 its name was changed to the Jenner Institute before being renamed again in 1903 to the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine.
In 1895 he was elected president of the Royal Society. In 1902 Lister was one of the 12 original members of the newly constituted Order of Merit and on the occasion of Lister's 80th Birthday in 1907 he received the freedom of the City of London. In 1908 Lister moved from London to Park House, Walmer, Kent where he remained until his death on 10 February 1912.
Lister worked on antiseptics in surgery, continuing the research of Louis Pasteur on air-borne organisms. He realised that some organisms could cause post-operative wound infections such as tetanus, blood-poisoning, and gangrene. He countered this by using carbolic acid soaked in lint or calico around the wound and replaced slow-to-absorb silk stitching with cat-gut stitching which absorbed the carbolic acid more easily. He also experimented with gauze swabs and a disinfectant spray for operating theatres.
For more information on Lister's life and career, please visit his profile on Plarr's Lives of the Fellows: https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/lives/search/results?qu=joseph+lister&te=ASSET.
Scope and ContentThis collection consists of papers presented to the College under the terms of Lord Lister's will, including notes on gauze; cases taken by Lister for the Fellowes Clinical medal at University College Hospital whilst a student, [1844-1853]; papers on early stages of inflammation; germ theory of putrefaction, 1875; correspondence on cases; copies of anatomical drawings, 1841-1843; physiological drawings and notes, [1851]; pathological sketches, [1851]; notes on clinical lectures by Jenner, Erichsen, Quain, Walshe and Garrod, 1851-1852; observations on the contractile tissue of the iris, [1853]; introductory lecture at Edinburgh, 1855; notes on external applications, 1855; lecture delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 1856; observations on early stages of inflammation and nerves, with some sketches, 1857; notes and sketches on the cutaneous pigmentary system of the frog, 1857; summary of experiments on the 'Hemmings' nervous system, 1858; notes and sketches on the minute structure of involuntary muscle fibre, 1858; notes on spontaneous gangrene from arteritis, 1858; coagulation of the blood, 1858-1860; Croomian lecture on Coagulation of the blood, 1863; notes and sketches of horse's blood, 1863; notes, sketches and photographs on excision of the wrist for caries, [1866]; notes on the antiseptic system of treatment in surgery, 1868; sketches and notes illustrating ligature, 1868-1869; notes on the ligature of arteries on the antiseptic system of treatment in surgery, 1871; sketches, notes and lecture on granulations, 1864-1871; drawings for plates on the natural history of bacteria, 1873 and germ theory of putrefaction, [1875]; address at opening of medical session, King's College Hospital, 1877; clinical lecture at King's College Hospital, 1877; sketches of spores and botanical sketches, 1872-1877; notes on the healing of wounds without antiseptic treatment, 1878; on the lactic fermentation, [1878]; notes for address to the Hunterian Society, 1889; observations on division of median and ulnar nerves, 1890; notes on anaesthetics and amputations, [1882];
Drawings of fungi, 1872-1877; notes for extra-academical lectures in Glasgow, 1860-1863; address to Glasgow students, 1894; common-place books, by Lister and Lady Lister, on subjects including bacteria, catgut and antiseptic dressings, including drawings; letters from Erichsen and others; signed prescriptions, 1889; letters to and from Lister, 1868-1900, including letters to Sir George Darwin, 1899-1900.
Notes on lectures on surgery delivered by Lister at the University of Glasgow, 1864-1865, transcribed by P H McKellar; notes on lectures on the theory and practice of surgery delivered by Lister at Glasgow, 1863-1864, taken by Dr Robert W Forrest; notes on the surgical lectures delivered by Lister at the University of Glasgow, 1863-1865, taken by Alex Forsyth.
Drawings of fungi, 1872-1877; notes for extra-academical lectures in Glasgow, 1860-1863; address to Glasgow students, 1894; common-place books, by Lister and Lady Lister, on subjects including bacteria, catgut and antiseptic dressings, including drawings; letters from Erichsen and others; signed prescriptions, 1889; letters to and from Lister, 1868-1900, including letters to Sir George Darwin, 1899-1900.
Notes on lectures on surgery delivered by Lister at the University of Glasgow, 1864-1865, transcribed by P H McKellar; notes on lectures on the theory and practice of surgery delivered by Lister at Glasgow, 1863-1864, taken by Dr Robert W Forrest; notes on the surgical lectures delivered by Lister at the University of Glasgow, 1863-1865, taken by Alex Forsyth.
Extent31 boxes and 6 rolls
LanguageEnglish
System of arrangementThe collection is arranged in eight sub-fonds: 1) correspondence 2) education and career 3) personal papers 4) notes, lectures and addresses 5) anniversaries and centenaries 6) drawings, sketches and photographs 7) Lister's printed works 8) the Lister collection.
Conditions governing accessThis collection is available to everyone for research. It can be consulted in our Research Room at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 38-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE. It is essential to book in advance so we can ensure material is available. Please email archives@rcseng.ac.uk to book a Research Room appointment. Access to some records may be restricted due to Data Protection legislation. We will advise where this is the case.
Conditions governing reproductionCopies of material in the archives can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents. Some items within this collection may remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study. Permission to publish material must be sought in advance from the Royal College of Surgeons of England and, where appropriate, the copyright holder. Please email archives@rcseng.ac.uk in the first instance.
Related objectsRCS-MUS/7/23/2
RCS-MUS/7/23/3
RCS-MUS/7/1/16
RCS-PHO/2/4/1
RCS-MUS/15/7
RCS-SCH/12
RCS-SCH/12/1
RCS-SEC/55
RCS-SEC/58
RCS-SEC/60
RCS-SEC/105
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MS0021/1/19
RCS-MUS/7/23/3
RCS-MUS/7/1/16
RCS-PHO/2/4/1
RCS-MUS/15/7
RCS-SCH/12
RCS-SCH/12/1
RCS-SEC/55
RCS-SEC/58
RCS-SEC/60
RCS-SEC/105
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Persons keyword Sir George Howard Darwin, 1845-1912, Knight, mathematician, astronomer, Sir John Eric Erichsen, 1818-1896, 1st Baronet, surgeon, Robert W Forrest, fl 1863-1864, medical doctor, Alex Forsyth, fl 1863-1865, medical student, Edward Jenner, 1749-1823, physician, naturalist, Agnes Lister, 1834-1893, wife of Joseph Lister, Sir Joseph Lister, 1827-1912, 1st Baron Lister, surgeon, P H McKellar, fl 1864-1865, medical student, Richard Quain, 1800-1887, surgeon, Walter Hayle Walshe, 1812-1892, physician, Hunterian Society, London King's College Hospital, 1840-date, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 1451-date University of Glasgow, Sir William Watson Cheyne, 1852-1932, 1st Baronet, surgeon
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