James Wardrop

Early life

Wardrop was born on 14 August 1782, the youngest son of James Wardrop (1738-1830) and his wife, Christian Marjoribanks, at Torbane Hill, in Bathgate, West Lothian, a family estate where the Wardrops had lived for several generations. But at four years of age moved with the family to live in Edinburgh where he attended the High School, and then St Andrews University.

Wardrop’s father had initially pursued legal studies, but abandoned them at the age of 20 following the death of his own father. Wardrop's mother, Christian, died in childbirth a year after his birth. She was the sister of Alexander Marjoribanks, owner of Balbardie House, an Adam-style mansion in Bathgate.

In 1786, when James was four years old, the Torbane hill estate was put up for sale. The family then relocated to a residence in south Edinburgh overlooking The Meadows.

Wardrop began his education at the High School in Edinburgh before the age of seven. At the time, the school had an enrollment of around 570 pupils, making it the largest in the United Kingdom. Under the rectorship of Dr. Alexander Adam, the curriculum focused heavily on Greek and Latin.

Among Wardrop’s contemporaries at the High School were several notable figures, including Adam Black (later MP and Lord Provost of Edinburgh), James Abercromby (Speaker of the House of Commons), and the brothers Leonard and Francis Horner. Another classmate, Andrew Geddes, went on to become a portrait painter and later painted portraits of both James Wardrop (now housed in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh) and his father (held in the Aberdeen Art Gallery).

Medical Training and Education

Although initially intended for a naval career, Wardrop developed a strong interest in natural history, which ultimately led him to pursue medicine. In 1800, at the age of 18, on the same day as James Keith he was apprenticed to a leading firm of surgeon apothecaries in Edinburgh, which included Benjamin Bell, James Russell and his great uncle Andrew Wardrop, former president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and in 1801 was appointed House Surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Three months earlier, the surgeon apothecaries accepted John Henry Wishart of Foxhall, to whom Wardrop would later dedicate one of his books.

Wardrop studied anatomy under Alexander Monro secundus and John Barclay at an extra-mural school in Edinburgh. He was appointed house surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, then located in the William Adam-designed building on Infirmary Street. During his tenure there, he famously performed a thigh amputation on a young patient to assess whether he had the temperament necessary for surgical practice.

In 1801, Wardrop travelled to London to continue his medical education under John Abernethy and Astley Cooper at St Thomas’s, Guy’s, and St George’s Hospitals. Cooper, who had previously studied in Edinburgh in 1787, was a leading surgeon of the time and reportedly once charged a wealthy West Indian planter 1,000 guineas for a bladder stone removal.

In 1803, Wardrop moved to Paris to further his medical education. There he encountered the work of notable physicians such as Guillaume Dupuytren and Marie François Xavier Bichat. However, shortly after his arrival, war was declared between France and Britain as part of the Napoleonic Wars. British nationals in France were subject to arrest, and Wardrop initially avoided capture by hiding in a secluded room at the École de Médecine.

Eventually, he was detained and interned at Fontainebleau along with other British nationals. Despite the circumstances, the detainees engaged in recreational activities, including picnics and swimming in the canals. Wardrop even practiced swimming with the idea that he might need to cross the Rhine to escape. During his internment, he secretly returned to Paris on several occasions to continue his studies and made sketches at the Louvre.

Career

In 1807, Wardrop was appointed assistant to Professor John Thomson, then Professor of Surgery and the first Regius Professor of Military Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. In this capacity, he also served as curator of the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The first volume of the College’s General Catalogue includes entries in Wardrop’s own handwriting, documenting specimens—some of which he had donated himself.

He became an active participant in several medical societies, including the Royal Medical Society and the Medico-Chirurgical Society. His first scientific publication appeared in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal in 1806, describing a case of crural hernia he had observed in Paris, illustrated with a drawing of his own.

In 1807, Wardrop published additional case reports and a significant paper titled Observations on the Effects of Evacuating the Aqueous Humour in Inflammation of the Eyes, and on the Changes Produced in the Transparency of the Cornea from the Increase or Diminution of the Contents of the Eyeball. This work built upon earlier research by John Barclay, who had demonstrated corneal opacification in a bullock’s eye following injection of the ophthalmic veins with mercury. Wardrop’s publication detailed five clinical cases of patients aged between 13 and 45, likely suffering from uveitis and secondary glaucoma, although not primary angle-closure glaucoma.

In 1808, he followed this with Practical Observations on the Mode of Making the Incision of the Cornea for the Extraction of the Cataract. In this work, he advocated using Beer’s knife, lubricated with oil and applied perpendicular to the corneal surface to prevent premature escape of aqueous humour—a method that remains relevant in modern cataract surgery. The precise technique of corneal incision continues to be a subject of discussion among ophthalmologists nearly two centuries later.

Also in 1808, Wardrop published the first volume of his textbook, Essays on the Morbid Anatomy of the Human Eye. He dedicated the work to his uncle Andrew Wardrop, writing:“This essay is inscribed as a testimony of the author’s gratitude, for the professional advantages derived, and the benefits experienced, from the kindness of an affectionate relative, and sincere friend.”This volume focused on corneal disease and introduced the term "keratitis" into medical literature. Unlike previous authors who used the broader term "ophthalmia", Wardrop described ocular conditions with reference to the specific anatomical structures affected. He gave accurate descriptions of keratitic precipitates, though he incorrectly attributed them to inflammation of Descemet’s membrane. In the Preliminary Observations, he emphasized the advantages of the eye as a subject for pathological study, noting:“For this beautiful organ is not only composed of a great variety of textures, but the transparency and ready examination of many of its parts in the living body admit of a great minuteness and accuracy of observation, and the various morbid changes can be seen going on much more distinctly than in any other part of the body.”In 1809, Wardrop published another notable work, Observations on the Fungus Hæmatodes, which presented 17 cases of a malignant ocular tumour initially named in 1805 by William Hey of Leeds (an Honorary Member of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh). This condition would later be reclassified as retinoblastoma. Drawing on both previous literature and his own clinical and pathological observations, Wardrop correctly identified the tumour’s origin in the retina, its potential to invade the optic nerve, and the need for early enucleation—though this approach was impractical in children before the development of effective general anaesthesia.

Royal Surgeon

In 1811, James Wardrop was appointed Surgeon Extraordinary to the Prince Regent, the eldest son and heir of King George III, who was periodically incapacitated by mental illness now believed to have been caused by acute porphyria. The circumstances under which Wardrop came to the attention of the Prince Regent remain uncertain, although both men shared a strong interest in hunting and horse racing. Wardrop was considered "one of the best judges of horseflesh in the kingdom" and had treated one of Lord Lowther’s horses for an ocular condition—an engagement that, alongside his lifelong involvement with horses, likely contributed to his introduction at court.

The Prince of Wales (later George IV) had been an active participant in horse racing, with a record of 190 winners between 1778 and 1791. However, controversy arose in October 1791 when the King's horse, Escape, performed poorly in one race at Newmarket only to win unexpectedly the following day. Although an inquiry found no wrongdoing, the incident led George III to withdraw from racing for several years. It is speculated that Wardrop and the Prince may have first met at one of the major racecourses such as Newmarket, Epsom, Ascot, or Lewes.

Professionally, Wardrop occasionally attended to the royal stables at Windsor. Through discussions with royal grooms, he learned of a practice in which a severely injured eye in a horse was treated either with caustic substances or by evisceration using a nail to prevent inflammation in the other eye. This observation represents one of the earliest descriptions of sympathetic ophthalmia, a condition not fully treatable until the advent of corticosteroids in the mid-20th century. In 1819, Wardrop was awarded a prize by the Board of Agriculture for his essay on diseases of the equine eye and their treatment.

Upon the death of George III in 1820, the Prince Regent ascended the throne as George IV. During his celebrated visit to Scotland in 1822, the King was accompanied by two medical advisers: Sir William Knighton and James Wardrop. Knighton, who had studied at Guy’s Hospital and earned medical degrees from the universities of St Andrews and Aberdeen, was created a baronet in 1812 and later became Keeper of the Privy Purse, abandoning active medical practice in 1822.

During the royal stay at Dalkeith Palace, Wardrop was called upon to treat Knighton, who was suffering from ophthalmia. He administered bloodletting, reportedly providing immediate relief. King George IV entered the room during the procedure and engaged Wardrop in conversation—initially regarding the treatment, and subsequently their shared enthusiasm for horses. After the visit, Wardrop returned to his father’s residence in Lauriston Lane, Edinburgh.

Death

James Wardrop was known for his generosity in providing free medical advice to the poor, often seeing patients at his home during the mornings. However, he was also intolerant of deceit and took particular satisfaction in exposing those who sought to exploit his charitable nature.

On one occasion, Wardrop recounted that he had been called to attend a patient in St James’s Square. Upon returning home, he noticed an elderly man, shabbily dressed, alighting from a carriage bearing a coronet on its panels, a symbol indicating noble status. Wardrop recognised the man as one of his regular recipients of free medical advice. Waiting discreetly until the man turned the corner of Charles Street, he confirmed that the individual was, in fact, a titled nobleman, an Earl.

When the man later arrived for his appointment, Wardrop received him formally, addressing him by his correct title. The patient, taken by surprise, attempted to withdraw, but Wardrop prevented his departure. He rebuked the Earl for his deception and insisted he pay a guinea for each previous visit he had received under false pretences.

Sir William Knighton died in 1836. On the day of his death, his widow wrote to James Wardrop, conveying her late husband's wish to reconcile with him. In her letter, she stated:“It was the earnest desire of my late dearest husband, towards the close of his illness, to have requested you to come to his bedside, in order that he might have expressed to you his entire good-will after the misunderstanding that occurred between you at the time of the late King’s illness, when hurry and anxiety of mind caused what you imagined an omission towards you.”Following the death of King George IV in 1830, Wardrop remained professionally active and published several notable medical works over the next seven years. These included a second edition of Essays on the Morbid Anatomy of the Eye, a treatise On Blood-letting, a second edition of On Aneurism and its Cure, and On the Nature and Treatment of Diseases of the Heart. The latter was published in three editions (1837, 1851, and 1859).

A copy of the second edition of On the Nature and Treatment of Diseases of the Heart is held by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Remarkably, it remains uncut after 150 years and bears the inscription: “For the Royal College of Surgeons from the Author.” Another copy was presented to the University of St Andrews.

Works

In 1809, Wardrop published Observations on Fungus Haematodes or Soft Cancer in which he for the first time described as an entity a pediatric eye cancer now known as retinoblastoma; and, unknowingly, a uveal melanoma that he helped to enucleate and that later metastasized to the liver.

Wardrop was associated with Thomas Wakley in the founding of The Lancet in 1823, for which he first wrote savage articles and, later, witty and scurrilous lampoons in his column 'Intercepted Letters'. The letters, under the pseudonym "Brutus", were thinly disguised as by leading London surgeons, revealing their nepotism, venality and incompetence. There was enough truth in them to make the parodies sting.

Works written by Wardrop include:

Cases of Movable Bodies Found in the Vaginal Coat of the Testis (1807)

Essays on the Morbid Anatomy of the Human Eye (1808 - 1818, Vol. 1 & 2)

Practical observations on the mode of making the incision of the cornea for the extraction of the cataract (1808)

Observations on Fungus Haematodes or Soft Cancer (1809)

Observations on the Effects of Evacuating the Aqueous Humour in Inflammation of the Eyes and on the Changes Produced in the Transparency of the Cornea, from the Increase or Diminution of the Contents of the Eyeball (1809)

History of James Mitchell, a boy born deaf and blind, with an account of the operation performed for the recovery of his sight (1814)

An Essay on Diseases of the Eye of the Horse, and on their Treatment (1819)

Biographical Sketch of the late Matthew Baillie, M.D. (1824)

Family

In 1813 Wardrop married Margaret, daughter of Col. George L. Dalrymple of East Lothian and the widow of Captain Burn. They had four sons and a daughter.