Samuel Cockburn (physician and homeopath)
Encyclopedia
Dr. Samuel Cockburn was a conventionally trained, for the time, Scottish
physician
who, early in his medical career, was won over by the principles of homeopathy
. In the mid to late 19th century he was an outspoken defender of homeopathy and a critic of the medical establishment of the time, which practised what is now termed Heroic medicine
.
Samuel Cockburn was born into a family of shoemakers in Duns, a market town that was the county seat of Berwickshire
in the Scottish Borders
. As a young man he worked as an apothecary
on the Square in Duns. In 1848 he completed a MD
degree from the University of St Andrews
and received a Licentiate
from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
(RCSEd). At this time the medical community in Edinburgh had already for some years been animated by a heated debate between the medical establishment (including such notable figures as Professor James Syme
, Professor Sir James Simpson
and Professor Sir Robert Christison
) and proponents of the alternative medical system of homeopathy advocated at the University by Professor William Henderson
, Professor Charles Ransford (a Fellow
and former Treasurer
of the RCSEd) and others. Efforts to expel Henderson from the RCSEd had already been made repeatedly in the 1840s and 1850s, but without success.
Cockburn was evidently won over by the alternative medical system, and spent the first 14 years of his medical career as the physician at the Dundee
Homeopathic Dispensary (opened on June 16, 1849). In January 1856 he completed a book, titled Medical Reform, which was aimed at a broad readership and was published both in Great Britain
and the United States
. The book appeared at a critical time when the appropriate directions of necessary medical reform were being widely debated. In 1857 Prof. Syme published his second open letter
to the Prime Minister
, Lord Palmerston, calling for medical reforms that would require strict conformity with the conventional practices advocated by the RCSEd. Cockburn's work is both a strongly worded critique of conventional medical practices of that time (e.g. bloodletting
and the ill-informed use of potentially dangerous medicines) as well as a vigorous defense of homeopathy. It attempts to discredit the medical establishment by giving examples of contradictory treatments recommended by contemporary medical theory (which Cockburn called allopathy, a derogatory term used by homeopaths). The book also denounced the "heavy-handed" attempts by the RCSEd to pressure its members (including himself) to avoid the "quackery
" of homeopathy.
In 1862 Cockburn moved to Glagsow, where he practiced homeopathy for the rest of his career. As well as practicing homeopathy at his clinic, Cockburn continued to lecture and publish articles on homeopathy. He was an active member of the British Homeopathic Society and a well-known member of the homeopathic community in Glasgow in the late 19th century.
In his retirement, Cockburn wrote two books that expounded on his convictions concerning the relationship between science and religion.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who, early in his medical career, was won over by the principles of homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
. In the mid to late 19th century he was an outspoken defender of homeopathy and a critic of the medical establishment of the time, which practised what is now termed Heroic medicine
Heroic medicine
Heroic medicine is a twentieth century term for aggressive medical practices or methods of treatment used until the mid-nineteenth century, and usually refers to treatments that scientific advances later replaced....
.
Samuel Cockburn was born into a family of shoemakers in Duns, a market town that was the county seat of Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
. As a young man he worked as an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
on the Square in Duns. In 1848 he completed a MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
degree from the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
and received a Licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...
(RCSEd). At this time the medical community in Edinburgh had already for some years been animated by a heated debate between the medical establishment (including such notable figures as Professor James Syme
James Syme
James Syme was a pioneering Scottish surgeon.-Early life:He was born on 7 November in Edinburgh. His father was a writer to the signet and a landowner in Fife and Kinross, who lost most of his fortune in attempting to develop the mineral resources of his property...
, Professor Sir James Simpson
James Young Simpson
Sir James Young Simpson was a Scottish doctor and an important figure in the history of medicine. Simpson discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and successfully introduced it for general medical use....
and Professor Sir Robert Christison
Robert Christison
Sir Robert Christison, 1st Baronet FRSE FRCSE FRCPE was a Scottish toxicologist and physician who served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh , as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh , and as president of the British Medical Association .Christison was...
) and proponents of the alternative medical system of homeopathy advocated at the University by Professor William Henderson
William Henderson (physician and homeopath)
Dr. William Henderson was a conventionally trained Scottish physician who became an influential advocate for homeopathy in Great Britain....
, Professor Charles Ransford (a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
and former Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of the RCSEd) and others. Efforts to expel Henderson from the RCSEd had already been made repeatedly in the 1840s and 1850s, but without success.
Cockburn was evidently won over by the alternative medical system, and spent the first 14 years of his medical career as the physician at the Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
Homeopathic Dispensary (opened on June 16, 1849). In January 1856 he completed a book, titled Medical Reform, which was aimed at a broad readership and was published both in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The book appeared at a critical time when the appropriate directions of necessary medical reform were being widely debated. In 1857 Prof. Syme published his second open letter
Open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
to the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Lord Palmerston, calling for medical reforms that would require strict conformity with the conventional practices advocated by the RCSEd. Cockburn's work is both a strongly worded critique of conventional medical practices of that time (e.g. bloodletting
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...
and the ill-informed use of potentially dangerous medicines) as well as a vigorous defense of homeopathy. It attempts to discredit the medical establishment by giving examples of contradictory treatments recommended by contemporary medical theory (which Cockburn called allopathy, a derogatory term used by homeopaths). The book also denounced the "heavy-handed" attempts by the RCSEd to pressure its members (including himself) to avoid the "quackery
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
" of homeopathy.
In 1862 Cockburn moved to Glagsow, where he practiced homeopathy for the rest of his career. As well as practicing homeopathy at his clinic, Cockburn continued to lecture and publish articles on homeopathy. He was an active member of the British Homeopathic Society and a well-known member of the homeopathic community in Glasgow in the late 19th century.
In his retirement, Cockburn wrote two books that expounded on his convictions concerning the relationship between science and religion.
Publications
- Samuel Cockburn, Homeopathy, a System of Medicine founded on Facts, not on Speculation, 1850.
- Samuel Cockburn, M.D., Medical Reform: Being an Examination into the Nature of the Prevailing System of Medicine; and an Exposition of its Chief Evils; with Allopathic Revelations. A Remedy for the Evil, (Henry Turner, Manchester, 1856; R. Theobald, London, 1857; Demacher & Sheek, Philadelphia, 1857; William Radde, New York, 1857; University of Michigan Library, 2005, ISBN 1425515029)).
- Samuel Cockburn, An Exposition of Homeopathic Law; with a Refutation of some of the Chief Objections advanced against Homeopathy: being a Lecture delivered in Glasgow under the auspices of the Glasgow Homeopathic Association, (James Cochrane, Glasgow, 1860).
- Samuel Cockburn, "Is the Doctrine of Infinitessimals Consistent with Reason and Experience?", Annals and Transactions of the British Homeopathic Society, and of the London Homeopathic Hospital, vol. IV, pp. 1-29, 1864.
- Samuel Cockburn, Fragmentary thoughts on the life and death forces, (Dunn and White, Glasgow, 1864).
- Samuel Cockburn, The Laws of Nature and the Laws of God: a reply to Prof. DrummondHenry DrummondHenry Drummond was a Scottish evangelist, writer and lecturer.- Life and work :Drummond was born in Stirling. He was educated at Edinburgh University, where he displayed a strong inclination for physical and mathematical science...
, (Swan Sonnenschein, Le Bas & Lowry, London, 1886).
- Samuel Cockburn, Thoughts in Verse: On Natural, Historical and Spiritual Subjects, (Aird & Coghill, Glasgow, 1909).