Dennis Embleton
# Dennis Embleton

Dennis Embleton MRCS, FRCS, LSA, MD (Pisa) MD FRCP, (1 Oct 1810 – 12 November 1900) was a Newcastle medical doctor and surgeon of the middle and late 19th century.

## Early life

Dennis Embleton was born in Newcastle on 1 October 1810.

His father, Thomas Embleton was born in East Chevington and his mother Anne (née Cawood) from Alwinton village, which is west of Alnwick and at the head of the River Coquet. He had an elder brother Thomas William Embleton, was trained as a mining engineer and moved in 1831 to Middleton, Leeds, to the position of colliery viewer

His father died in 1820, and Dennis and his brother Thomas were brought up by an uncle, George Hill, also a colliery viewer, of Kenton, Newcastle.

Both he and his brother Thomnas William were educated at Witton-le-Wear Grammar School, County Durham, under the Rev. George Newby.

## Career

After leaving Witton School, he started his apprenticeship on 23 April 1827, bound to a Mr. Thomas Leighton, the Senior Surgeon at Newcastle Infirmary for a period of five years, the cost of which to his guardian, was £500, not an inconsiderately sum in those days. He left Newcastle before the end of his apprenticeship, with the permission and consent of Mr. Leighton, to complete his studies in London at Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital, Grainger's anatomical school at Maze Pond (in London), and probably also at Pilcher's School of Anatomy.

He qualified in 1834. After working for around a year, he spent the next two years travelling mainly on foot around Europe, with another medical student, William Croser. They both spoke French and Italian very well. They journeyed to Paris, Strasbourg, Baden, Switzerland, over the Simplon Pass, Milan, Genoa, Rome, Bologna, Pisa, Florence, Venice, Trieste, Vienna, The Tyrol and back to Paris. All the time, in addition to seeing the sights, they visited numerous medical establishments, and at Pisa they petitioned the university, sat the examination for doctorate of medicine, passed and were granted diplomas on 14 September 1836

## Marriage and family

Embleton was married in 1847 in Whickham to Miss Elizabeth Turner (died 1869), who also had a great interest in nature and the sciences; they had three children. Their son was Dennis Cawood Embleton (b. 9 March 1854), MD, MRCS, who predeceased him by a few months at Bournemouth, where he had a large practice. Embleton also had two daughters, one married.

Embleton's grandson, also named Dennis Embleton (b 14 March 1881) L.R.C.P. (MRCS at Christ's College, Cambridge 1906), went into the medical profession.

## Memberships and interests

* Vice-President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne
* Vice-President of the Natural History Society of Newcastle
* Vice-President of the Antiquarian Society of Newcastle
* Involved with the new museum at Barras Bridge (later the Hancock Museum, and now Great North Museum) and presented them with many Natural History specimens
* A great interest in the regional dialect

## Time line

* 1834 (18 June) – Admitted as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons
* 1835 (16 April) – Admitted as a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries
* 1835 (May) – He set off on his European Adventure
* 1836 – Finally ended his travels
* 1837 – Settled as physician in Newcastle upon Tyne
* 1839 (September) – Joined the Newcastle School of Medicine as Demonstrator of Practical Anatomy and Curator of the Museum
* 1850 – Commenced negotiations with Durham University for the medical school to become a college of Durham University
* 1852 – Appointed Reader in Medicine at the University of Durham
* 1853 – University of Durham admitted him to his M.D. degree by Diploma
* 1857 – Became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
* 1870 – Appointed the first Professor of Medicine and of the Practice of Physic at University of Durham School of Medicine
* 1870 – Formal recognition of the College as 'University of Durham College of Medicine'. Denis Embleton was appointed in 1870 the first Professor of Medicine and of the Practice of Physic
* 1872 – Edward Charlton succeeded him, and thus his long tenure of office at Newcastle and Durham ceased after a period of thirty-three years.
* 1858 – 1872 – Representative of the University of Durham on the General Medical Council
* April 1853 – May 1878 – Physician to the Newcastle upon Tyne Infirmary from, when he became Consulting Physician.
* 1856–1873 – Physician to the Newcastle upon Tyne Dispensary and Fever House
* 1882 – President of the section of Sanitary Science and Preventive Medicine during the meeting of the Sanitary Science Congress in Newcastle.

## Later life

In 1898 Embleton had an accident, and two years later, at the age of 90 years, he died at his home, 19 Claremont Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, early on the morning of Monday 12 November 1900. He was buried in St Andrew's Cemetery, Newcastle

## Legacy

A portrait of Dennis Embleton accompanies his biography in The Lancet, and his photograph is in the Fellows' Album (1867)

## Dialect

Dennis Embleton had a keen interest in languages, and also in the local Geordie dialect. He wrote a document on the peculiarities of the local dialect in 1887, followed by a “canny little poem” called “The Ahd Pitman's Po'try tiv ees Marrah”. This poem appeared in the Newcastle Courant around 1890 with no indication of authorship, but Thomas Allan in his Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs attributed it to Embleton. This was later shown to be correct when details of his works were produced and printed with his bibliographical details in his official obituary.

