William Harrison Cripps (born West Ilsley, Berkshire, 15 January 1850; died London, 8 November 1923) was a prominent British surgeon. He was particularly noted for his expertise on cancer of the rectum.
Overview
William Harrison Cripps (born West Ilsley, Berkshire, 15 January 1850; died London, 8 November 1923) was a prominent British surgeon. He was particularly noted for his expertise on cancer of the rectum.
Early life
Cripps was the second son of Julia Lawrence and Henry William Cripps (1815-1899), QC, son of Joseph Cripps (1765-1847), a wealthy Cirencester banker and member of Parliament. Cripps' uncle William Cripps (1805-1848) and his younger brother Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor (1852-1941) also served in Parliament. Cripps had scarlet fever as a child and was educated at home by a tutor due to ill health. His mother's uncle Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet (1783-1867) was a prominent surgeon, and Cripps entered St Bartholomew's Hospital, where Lawrence had operated, for training about 1868–9. Cripps became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1872 and a Fellow in 1875.
Surgical career
Cripps spent most of his career at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. He was at first House Surgeon to Thomas Smith, then an assistant demonstrator of anatomy at the medical school. In 1876 he won the Jacksonian Prize of the Royal College of Surgeons for an essay titled "The Treatment of Cancer of the Rectum, particularly as regards the possibility of Curing or Relieving the Patient by Excision of the Affected Part". In 1879 he was appointed surgical registrar. In 1882 he was elected Assistant Surgeon. In 1892 he also took on the position of surgeon to the gynaecological wards, working with Sir Francis Champneys. From 1880 to 1890 he was also Surgeon to the Great Northern Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, although most of his work continued to be at St. Bartholomew's.
