Edward Leicester Atkinson (1881–1929): Antarctic explorer, scientist and naval surgeon

Edward Leicester Atkinson qualified at St Thomas's Hospital in 1906 and joined the Navy in 1908. He was a doctor and parasitologist on Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic and had to take charge of the expedition when Scott died on his return from the South Pole. After th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Medical Biography
Main Author: Guly, Henry
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2014
Subjects:
History and Philosophy of Science
Medicine (miscellaneous)
Antarctic
Atkinson
Leicester
South Pole
The Antarctic
Antarc*
South pole
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0967772014526131
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0967772014526131
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0967772014526131
Description
Summary:Edward Leicester Atkinson qualified at St Thomas's Hospital in 1906 and joined the Navy in 1908. He was a doctor and parasitologist on Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic and had to take charge of the expedition when Scott died on his return from the South Pole. After the expedition he went to China and discovered the cause of schistosomiasis, returning at the start of the First World War in which he served with distinction, winning a DSO and Albert Medal but also being severely injured. After the war he served in various naval posts and became the youngest Surgeon Captain in the Navy before being retired on health grounds in 1928. He died at sea the following year.

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