The Hunterian oration for the year 1907 : being the sixty-third Hunterian oration since its foundation, delivered in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons / by Henry T. Butlin on the objects of Hunter's life and the manner in which he accomplished them.

  • Butlin, Henry T. (Henry Trentham), 1845-1912.
Date:
1907
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Hunterian oration for the year 1907 : being the sixty-third Hunterian oration since its foundation, delivered in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons / by Henry T. Butlin on the objects of Hunter's life and the manner in which he accomplished them. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of medicine, to warrant its purchase by the State! Happily, Lord Auckland and some other distinguished persons took the matter up, and persisted with it until Parliament was persuaded to purchase it at a cost of £15,000. But this did not take place until 1799, six years after Hunter’s death; and in the meantime the collection had been in danger of being suffered to fall into decay or of being dispersed. It cost money to maintain, and already some portions of it had been sold to defray current expenses. We are indebted to the timely help of Lord Auckland and his associates for having preserved it to the nation. Whether it was first offered to our sister college, as Ottley suggests, I do not know, but it is certain that in the course of the same year (1799) it was offered to our predecessors, the Corporation of Surgeons, and to its eternal credit, be it said, the trust was accepted on December 23rd by a unani¬ mous vote of its Council. And to the glory of this College, be it further said, that one of the chief objects of generation after generation of our Councils has been, not merely to maintain the Hunterian Museum, but to enlarge and perfect it until, at this present moment, we, the present Council, can exhibit it proudly as the best museum of its kind in the whole world. Many years elapsed before Hunter’s fame became established, and it is not easy to trace the steps or the precise means by which this was effected. That it was accomplished slowly there can be no question.