Lionel Smith Beale is remembered in medicine for work that altered practice rather than merely argument.
The record lists Lionel Smith Beale as British physician, microscopist, and professor (1828–1906).
Lionel Smith Beale was born at London in 1828. His recorded nationality is United Kingdom. He trained at King's College School and King's College London.
Anaesthesia, antisepsis and germ theory arrived within fifty years and made modern surgery possible for the first time.
His posts were held at King's College London.
Most medical progress is invisible: it shows up as an illness that no longer kills anyone.
Recognition followed: Fellow of the Royal Society, Croonian Medal and Lecture (1865) and Baly Medal.
That the work was done from United Kingdom matters: hospitals, training and research funding are unevenly distributed, and they decide which questions can be asked.
Lionel Smith Beale died in 1906, aged 78. What survives is the change in practice, which is how a medical life is actually measured.
Achievements
- Fellow of the Royal Society
- Croonian Medal and Lecture — 1865
- Baly Medal
- Held posts at King's College London
