Author: Trotter, Thomas
Biography:
TROTTER, Thomas (1760-1832: ODNB)
Born at Melrose, Roxburghshire, to Alison (Marr) and John Trotter, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After two years study, he became a naval surgeon’s mate and served with distinction; his exemplary treatment of the wounded led to his promotion to surgeon. In 1783 he worked as a surgeon on a Liverpool slave ship; the experience made him an ardent abolitionist. His recommendations for using diet to avoid scurvy were ignored with predictable results and, in 1786, he published Observations on the Scurvy. He became one of three men responsible for introducing lemon juice as a preventative measure in the navy. He settled into private practice in Wooler, Northumberland, and completed his MD (1788). He rejoined the navy and promoted reforms to naval medical practice (these are catalogued in his Medicinea Nautica of 1797, 1799, and 1803). He was appointed physican to the Royal Hospital at Haslar near Portsmouth, and he encouraged the use of vaccination against smallpox among naval men. His naval career ended when he suffered injury in 1802 and he moved to Newcastle upon Tyne where he married Elizabeth Juliana Everitt. She died in 1804 after the birth of their son. In 1810 he married Isabella Agnes Dixon; they had two sons. In addition to the works included in the database, he wrote on a wide range of medical and naval matters, taking a reformist and progressive approach. He died at Newcastle. (ODNB 27 Nov. 2020; findmypast.co.uk 27 Nov. 2020) SR
Other Names:
- Dr. Trotter
- Trotter