BIOGRAPHY

OF
DR. ROBERT ELLIS
DUDGEON

CONTENTS :
-Brief view
-Birth
-Childhood & education
-Medical practise & conversion
-Other activities of Dudgeon
-Translations
-Original writings
-His literary styles
-Professional achievements
-Character
-Demise

BRIEF VIEW :
*NAME

- DUDGEON, ROBERT

ELLIS

*DATE OF BIRTH
*BIRTH PLACE

- 17th MARCH, 1829

- Leith, Edinburghshire,

Scotland

*DEATH
- 8th SEPTEMBER,
1904
*PLACE OF DEATH - 22 Carlton Hill

BIRTH :
He was born in a country house in the outskirt
of edingburgh on 17 march, 1829 ,
th

which is a very auspicious day in christian

mythology known as SAINT PATRICKS DAY.

CHILDHOOD & EDUCATION :

After attending a private school he received his medical
education at Edinburgh, partly in the university and partly
in the extra-academical medical school.
Having received the licence of the Royal College of
Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1839.
As per the existing rules he was not allowed to sit for
university examination because of his younger age ,So he
attended the lectures of Velpeau, Andral, Louis, and others
in Paris, graduated M.D.
He returned to Edinburgh and passed his M.D. examination
from the Edingburgh university on 1 August, 1841.

Spent a semester at Vienna under Skoda, Rokitansky. Hebra, and

Jaeger.
At Vienna his fellow students were John Drysdale, Rutherfurd
Russell and fisher , studying the homopathic practice in
Fleischmanns hospital.
They were very close to each other and used to dine together
frequently at a favourite restaurant.
Dudgeon personally was not interested in homoeopathy at this
particular time.
.
From Vienna he went to Berlin to study diseases of the eye
under Juengken, of the ear under Kramer, and organic chemistry
under Simon.
Finally ho passed to Dublin to benefit by the instruction of Graves,
Stokes, Corrigan, and Marsh.

MEDICAL PRACTISE & CONVERSION :

He settled in medical practise atb Liverpool which was the
residence of his father. Dr. Drysdale was also practising in
Liverpool and used to insist Dudgeon to take interest in
homoeopathy.
In 1843, THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY was
started by
Drysdale, Russell,and Black although they were
hardly a dozen of homoeopaths in the united kingdom at that time.
Drysdale used to request Dudgeon to translate articles from
German to English and thus in Dudgeons words,
he learnt a good deal about the new system and gradually became
a thorough
believer.

On Drysdales advice he went to Vienna and come in contact with

Madden .their families lived together in vienna and spent much
time in studying homoeopathy jointly and critically.
He returned to England & started homoeopathic practise in
London in 1851 and next year he joined the Editorial board of the
BRITISH JOURNAL OF HOMOEOPATHY.
He joined in place of Black who had withdrawn after first volume.
he remained with the journal till 1884 when the publication
ceased for some time.

OTHER ACTIVITIES OF DUDGEON :

A few years after death of Hahnemann The central society of
German homoeopaths decided to construct a monument of
Hahnemann at Coethen.
since,dudgeon considered coethen a dull little town and
Hahnemanns connections with it was purely accidental and
transitory , he raised his voice against it. Ultimately Leipzig was
decided as the site of monument .
This ocassion was attended by many important physicians and
deciples of Hahnemann.
He was instrumental in founding the Hahnemann hospital and
School of Homoeopathy of bloomsburg square,with which was
connected the Hahnemann medical society, where eminent
homoeopaths were involved as teachers. Dudgeon himself taught
Theory and practise of Homoeopathy.

Robert Ellis Dudgeon invented

theSphygmograph.

In 1881 , Dudgeon introduced a new, highly portable

Sphygmograph.The sphygmograph was strapped to the
wrist. The pulse at the wrist caused a metal strip to move a
stylus, transmitting a record of the pulse onto smoked paper.
Robert Ellis Dudgeons instrument quickly became popular
since it was compact and easy to use. Thesphygmograph
traces an undulating line, which represents a record of blood
pressure and pulse over time.
It was the most famous discovery. It was mildly opposed in
the beginings by allopaths but later on described and
photographed in most of the books on physiology and
pathology.

TRANSLATIONS :
1849 : Hahnemanns ORGANON OF MEDICINE 5th edition.
In the end of the book he added an appendix which gives a detailed
history of the origin, growth and propers of each aphorisms and adds
some needful explanatory notes.

1851 : Hahnemanns Lesser writings.

He collected 51 writings of Hahnemann of prehomoeopathic, homoeopathic period and translated
them.
1880 : Materia medica pura, complete in 2
volumes.

ORIGINAL WRITINGS :
1851 : His translators preface of Hahnemanns
writings.
this is a wonderful summary of 20 writings
both original and translations, essays and books,
of Hahnemann which are not included in the
Lesser writings.

1852 : Biographical sketch of Hahnemann.

1854 : Lectures on Theory and Practise of

Homoeopathy.

1870 : The Human Eye: Its Optical Considerations

HIS LITERARY STYLES :

Dr.W.von Baun describes Dudgeons literary styles as
interesting, racy, humerous but modest style.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS :
1) He was twice chosen as the president of the British Homoeopathic
society and once British Homoeopathic Congress.
2) He was chosen as the president of the International Homoeopathic
congress at Atlantic city.
Dudgeon write about himself
I have been engaged in almost every controversy on homoeopathy
in the medical and lay periodical.

CHARACTER :

Even in his seventies he was hale and hearty and did

his professional work withouy fatigue, played golf whole
day, once a week, went for gouse shooting every year, in
the month of august for 3 weeks and used to take long
swing every day. He was very fond of shooting patridges
and pheasants.

DEMISE :
In the morning session of The British Homoeopathic Congress on
july,1, Dudgeon told his friends that he was troubled with a skin
irritation which interferred with sleep and gave him a feeling of
general illness. He never left his house after this date. This trouble
developed into a abnormal form of pemphigus which undermined his
vital power and inspite of his mental faculties remaining unimpaired, he
sank from weakness.
At the age of 85 years on 8th september,1904, he passed away
peacefully without pain, without any complain and without any
disturbance.

THANK YOU