Charles White

Charles White FRS (4 October 1728 – 20 February 1813) was an English physician and a co-founder of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and the St Mary's Hospital for Lying in Women in 1790. White made contributions in the fields of orthopaedics, surgery, and obstetrics. He was a founding member of the Portico Library and of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, where he was also Vice President for 23 years. Early life White was born in Manchester, England, on 4 October 1728, the only son of Thomas White, a surgeon and midwife, and Rosamond Bower. After being educated by the Reverend Radcliffe Russell, White joined his father's practice as an apprentice in about 1742. He was able to assist in surgery and deliveries from the young age of 14. He subsequently studied medicine in London under the anatomist and obstetrician William Hunter in 1748. After finishing his training with Dr. Hunter he went to Edinburgh to further his studies before returning to Manchester in 1751. He joined his father in practice at their home in King street. After his father's death he continued his practice there until he retired to his father's country house at Sale Priory. Career General surgical techniques From the 1750s onward, White became increasingly recognised as an able and innovative surgeon. He presented a paper to the Royal Society in 1760 describing his successful treatment of a fractured arm by reuniting the ends of the broken bone. In 1762, the year he became a fellow of the society, he presented another paper, on the use of sponges to stop bleeding. Most people were using a ligature which was extremely painful. White asserted the sponge was less painful and more effective than a ligature in lacerated areas and when there was much contusion. In his report to the Royal Society, he recorded 13 cases that were entirely successful where all other methods had failed. He also used dry sponges to foul abscesses and ulcers with successful results. He became a member of the Company of Surgeons that same year. He devised a method for reducing dislocations of the shoulder. He reported that in twenty years he had yet to fail to reduce the joint. The method entailed the use of an iron ring in the ceiling and a pulley fixed into it, the other end fastened by bandages the forearm above the wrist. By drawing up the patient.