Henry Burton MD, ML, MD, BS,
FRCP | |
---|---|
Born | 27 February 1799 |
Died | 10 August 1849 |
Nationality | British |
Education | Tonbridge School |
Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, St Bartholomew's Hospital |
Occupation(s) | Physician, chemist |
Known for | Burton line |
Spouse |
Mary Elizabeth Poulton
(
m. 1826) |
Parents |
|
Relatives |
|
Henry Burton FRCP (27 February 1799 – 10 August 1849) was a British physician and chemist, who is famous for his identification of blue discolouration of the gums, the eponymous Burton line, as a symptom of lead poisoning.
Henry Burton was a son of the London property developer James Burton and his wife Elizabeth Westley (1761 – 1837). [1] Henry was a brother of the gunpowder manufacturer William Ford Burton, the architect Decimus Burton, and the Egyptologist, James Burton. [1] [2] [3]
As the Cambridge Alumni Database identifies, [4] some sources, including the entry for Henry Burton in the Royal College of Physicians’s Lives of the Fellows, [5] incorrectly state that Henry Burton was the son of one ‘John Burton’. This is incorrect: he was the son of the aforementioned James Burton. [4] [3] [1] [2]
On his father's side, his great-great grandparents were Rev. James Haliburton (1681–1756) and Margaret Eliott, daughter of Sir William Eliott, 2nd Baronet and aunt of George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield. [2] Henry was descended from John Haliburton (1573–1627), from whom Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet could trace his descent on the maternal side. [1] He was a cousin of the Tory MP Thomas Chandler Haliburton, and of the civil servant Arthur Lawrence Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton. [3] [6] [7]
Henry was educated at Tonbridge School, [1] Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, at which he received the degrees MB, ML, MD, BS, and FRCP, [4] [5] and later at St Bartholomew's Hospital. [4]
He went to sea on the 98-gun HMS Boyne before resigning from the Navy and entering the Gunpowder Office. [3] In September 1825, he became Professor of Chemistry at St Thomas' Hospital, [4] [5] [1] where he subsequently became Senior Physician. He was appointed Censor of the Royal College of Physicians in 1838 and later was appointed Consiliarius [4] [5] He is famous for his discovery that a blue line on the gums, the eponymous Burton line, is a symptom of lead poisoning. [5] [8] [9]
Henry Burton married Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Poulton of Maidenhead, at St. George's, Bloomsbury, in 1826. [2] She died in 1829, without issue, and Henry did not remarry. [3] [2] Henry lived at 41 Jermyn Street, London, [4] and 58 Marina, St. Leonard's-on-Sea. [3] [2]
Henry Burton MD, ML, MD, BS,
FRCP | |
---|---|
Born | 27 February 1799 |
Died | 10 August 1849 |
Nationality | British |
Education | Tonbridge School |
Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, St Bartholomew's Hospital |
Occupation(s) | Physician, chemist |
Known for | Burton line |
Spouse |
Mary Elizabeth Poulton
(
m. 1826) |
Parents |
|
Relatives |
|
Henry Burton FRCP (27 February 1799 – 10 August 1849) was a British physician and chemist, who is famous for his identification of blue discolouration of the gums, the eponymous Burton line, as a symptom of lead poisoning.
Henry Burton was a son of the London property developer James Burton and his wife Elizabeth Westley (1761 – 1837). [1] Henry was a brother of the gunpowder manufacturer William Ford Burton, the architect Decimus Burton, and the Egyptologist, James Burton. [1] [2] [3]
As the Cambridge Alumni Database identifies, [4] some sources, including the entry for Henry Burton in the Royal College of Physicians’s Lives of the Fellows, [5] incorrectly state that Henry Burton was the son of one ‘John Burton’. This is incorrect: he was the son of the aforementioned James Burton. [4] [3] [1] [2]
On his father's side, his great-great grandparents were Rev. James Haliburton (1681–1756) and Margaret Eliott, daughter of Sir William Eliott, 2nd Baronet and aunt of George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield. [2] Henry was descended from John Haliburton (1573–1627), from whom Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet could trace his descent on the maternal side. [1] He was a cousin of the Tory MP Thomas Chandler Haliburton, and of the civil servant Arthur Lawrence Haliburton, 1st Baron Haliburton. [3] [6] [7]
Henry was educated at Tonbridge School, [1] Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, at which he received the degrees MB, ML, MD, BS, and FRCP, [4] [5] and later at St Bartholomew's Hospital. [4]
He went to sea on the 98-gun HMS Boyne before resigning from the Navy and entering the Gunpowder Office. [3] In September 1825, he became Professor of Chemistry at St Thomas' Hospital, [4] [5] [1] where he subsequently became Senior Physician. He was appointed Censor of the Royal College of Physicians in 1838 and later was appointed Consiliarius [4] [5] He is famous for his discovery that a blue line on the gums, the eponymous Burton line, is a symptom of lead poisoning. [5] [8] [9]
Henry Burton married Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Poulton of Maidenhead, at St. George's, Bloomsbury, in 1826. [2] She died in 1829, without issue, and Henry did not remarry. [3] [2] Henry lived at 41 Jermyn Street, London, [4] and 58 Marina, St. Leonard's-on-Sea. [3] [2]