Keate , Robert , 1777-1857 , surgeon

Robert Keate was born in Laverton, Somerset, in 1777. He was apprenticed to his uncle, Thomas Keate (1745-1821), a surgeon. Robert Keate entered St George's Hospital, London, in 1793. He became hospital mate at Chelsea Hospital in 1794. He became a member of the Company of Surgeons in 1798, and was appointed Staff Surgeon to the Army. He retired from the army in 1810 with the rank of Inspector-General of Hospitals. He was on the surgical staff of St George's Hospital, London, from 1800-1853. He was finally removed by the Governors. He was a member of the Court of Assistants, from 1822-1857, and the Court of Examiners, from 1827-1855. He was President of the College in 1831 and 1839. He held royal appointments to George III, George IV, William IV, and in 1841 to Queen Victoria. He supported the institution of a "higher grade" of surgeon which eventually became the Fellowship. He died in 1857.

Thomas Stone was the son of a beadle, and was appointed to assist in the Library in 1832. After Robert Willis retired in 1845, Stone took over all of the work in the Library. Dr John Chatto was appointed Librarian in 1853, and Stone was transferred to the College office as a clerk where he worked until 1871. His son, William Domett Stone (1840-1921), became a Fellow of the College in 1865.