Thomas Hodgkin: medical immortal and uncompromising idealist

Marvin J. Stone, MD

Thomas Hodgkin was born into a devout Quaker family in Pentonville, England, in 1798. His upbringing imbued him from early life with honesty, discipline, and concern for the less fortunate (1, 2). As a Quaker, Thomas wore plain clothes and spoke in a formal manner. At age 21, he wrote an "Essay on the Promotion of Civilization," in which he criticized the imperialistic behavior of colonists that led to the degradation or death of North American Indians and other native peoples. Thomas also developed an interest in science. From 1817 until 1820 he served as apprentice to an apothecary and "walked the wards" at Guy's Hospital in London. While a medical student at Edinburgh, Hodgkin visited European medical centers during 1821-1822 and met René Laennec in Paris. Laennec had recently devised the stethoscope and taught Hodgkin how to use it. He received his medical degree from Edinburgh in 1823, the same year he met Moses Montefiore, a wealthy financier and philanthropist who was to become his lifelong patient and close friend.