Life

He was born on 13 October 1753 in Philadelphia, the youngest son of John Pole (1705–1755), a native of Wiveliscombe

Wiveliscombe

Wiveliscombe is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district. The town has a population of 2,670. The parish includes the nearby hamlet of Maundown.-History:...

, Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, who emigrated to New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. His mother's maiden name was Rachel Smith, of Burlington

Burlington

Burlington often refers to:* Burlington, Ontario* Burlington, VermontBurlington may also mean:-England:*Bridlington in Yorkshire, previously known as "Burlington"*Burlington, a codename for Central Government War Headquarters-Canada:...

. Thomas was brought up as a member of the Society of Friends. In 1775 he visited relatives in England, and, with the object of attending Friends' meetings, he travelled widely through England and Wales, mainly on horseback, for two or three years.

In 1777 he studied medicine with Dr. Joseph Rickman at Maidenhead

Maidenhead

Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...

, went on to Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 as student, and in 1780 moved to Falmouth

Falmouth

-Canada:*Falmouth, Nova Scotia, a community in Hants County*Upper Falmouth, Nova Scotia-United States:*Falmouth, Florida*Falmouth, Indiana*Falmouth, Kentucky*Falmouth, Maine*Falmouth, Massachusetts...

, becoming assistant to Dr. J. Fox. He settled in London in 1781, was admitted a member of the College of Surgeons there, and later received the degree of M.D. from St Andrews University in 1801. In 1789 he was made a member of the American Philosophical Society

American Philosophical Society

The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...

, of which Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...

 was then president.

His practice was mainly in obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

, gynaecology

Gynaecology

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...

 and paediatrics. Pole moved to Bristol in 1802, and acquired an extensive practice. There he continued his medical lectures, among his pupils being James Cowles Prichard

James Cowles Prichard

James Cowles Prichard MD FRS was an English physician and ethnologist. His influential Researches into the physical history of mankind touched upon the subject of evolution...

, and he also lectured on chemistry and other sciences.

Pole spent time on ministerial work in the Society of Friends, and took part in philanthropic schemes. Bernard Barton

Bernard Barton

-External links:* at Find-A-Grave...

, the Quaker poet, paid tribute in 1826 to Pole's wide sympathies and tolerant views.

He died at Bristol on 28 September 1829. In 1784 he had married Elizabeth Barrett of Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

; four children survived him.

Works

In 1790 he published Anatomical Instructor (1790), an illustration of the modern and most approved methods of preparing and preserving the different parts of the human body for purposes of study, with copperplates drawn by himself. A new edition appeared in 1813. He lectured on midwifery

Midwifery

Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....

, and recorded cases in sketches, which were engraved. Pole published also Anatomical Description of a Double Uterus and Vagina, London, 1792.

He helped William Smith in 1812 to establish some of the first adult schools for poor mature students in England, and wrote in their support in 1813; Smith was sexton

Sexton

Sexton may refer to:*Sexton , a self-propelled artillery vehicle of World War II*Sexton , a church or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of the church buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard; and ringing of the church bells...

 at the Methodist King Street Chapel in Bristol. In 1814 he issued an account of their origin and progress as A History of the Origin and Progress of Adult Schools, for which James Montgomery

James Montgomery

James Montgomery was a British editor, hymnwriter and poet. He was particularly associated with humanitarian causes such as the campaigns to abolish slavery and to end the exploitation of child chimney sweeps....

 wrote a poem. The book helped launch a national adult school movement, though the concept itself had been in existence since a school of William Singleton and Samuel Fox in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 of 1798.

Despite a strictness then prevalent in the Society of Friends, he made many water-colour drawings of landscape and architecture, in monotints and silhouette

Silhouette

A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...

s.