Clarke , James Fernandez , bap 1812-1875 , medical writer and surgeon

James Fernandez Clarke was born in Olney, Buckinghamshire and baptised in 1812. He became apprenticed to C Snitch, a general practitioner in Brydges Street, Covent Garden, in 1828. Clarke spent some time at Cadell's Library on the Strand, and became aquainted with literature and literary people. He entered Dermott's Medical School in Gerrard Street, Soho, in 1833. He was Dermott's amanuensis for a time, and then assisted with the short-lived London Medical and Surgical Journal. In 1834 he wrote a report on a case of Joseph Lister's, who was impressed and introduced him to Thomas Wakely, editor of The Lancet. Wakely appointed Clarke an assistant and he worked for The Lancet for 30 years, as well as being a clinical reporter for hospitals and for various medical societies. He became a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries, in 1837. He became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and was Senior Surgeon to the Dorcas Charity, in 1852 . He was a Fellow of the Medical Society of London, an Honorary Associate of the Royal Medical and Botanical Society, and a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Academy of Surgery, Madrid. After completing 30 years service for The Lancet, Clarke published his reminisences in the Medical Times and the Gazette. These were reproduced as Autobiographical Recollections of the Medical Profession, in 1874. He died in 1875.