Walter Hadwen | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Walter Robert Hadwen 3 August 1854 Woolwich, England |
| Died | 27 December 1932 (aged 78) Gloucester, England |
| Alma mater | Bristol University |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse |
Alice Harral (m. 1878) |
| Children | 3 |
Walter Robert Hadwen MRCS MRCP (3 August 1854 – 27 December 1932) was an English general practitioner, pharmaceutical chemist and writer. He was president of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and an anti-vaccination campaigner, known for his denial of the germ theory of disease.
Biography
Walter Robert Hadwen was born in Woolwich on 3 August 1854.[1] He began his career as a pharmacist in Highbridge, Somerset, then subsequently trained as a doctor at Bristol University. After qualifying, he moved to Gloucester in 1896. Hadwen was recruited as a member of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection by its founder and then president Frances Power Cobbe who hired a private investigator to assess his credentials (he was a vegetarian and total abstainer, had a reputation as a "firebrand" orator and was held in "high local esteem"). She subsequently selected him as her successor.[2]
He later became a member of the Plymouth Brethren and married Alice Harral in 1878; they had three children.[3] Hadwen was a frequent speaker for the National Anti-Vaccination League. He was also a member of the London Association for the Prevention of Premature Burial (founded in 1896). Hadwen stated that the "modern germ theory is all bosh".[4]
Hadwen was active in general practice until he died from a severe heart attack in 1932, age 78.[5] In his honour the Dr Hadwen Trust was founded in 1970 to fund exclusive non-animal techniques to replace animal experiments.[5]
Vegetarianism
Hadwen became a vegetarian in his early twenties when taking a bet from a fellow student that he could live six months without eating meat. His bet was successful and he stated that "For my part I am quite satisfied with my trial of vegetarianism, and it would take more than mortal power to persuade me once again to make my stomach a graveyard for the purpose of burying dead bodies in."[5]
Manslaughter trial
In 1924, having applied his rejection of the germ theory of disease, and his refusal to use diphtheria anti-serum produced by inoculation of animals to the treatment of Nellie Burnham, a young girl, she died and he was tried for manslaughter by criminal medical negligence.[6] He was acquitted of all charges.[7][8]
Selected publications
- Is Flesh-Eating Harmful?, 1895
- The Case Against Vaccination, 1896
- Smallpox at Gloucester: A Reply to Dr. Coupland’s Report, 1902. Reprinted from "The Reformer," National Anti-Vaccination League: Gloucester.
- Vivisection: Its Follies and Cruelties, 1905
- A Debate on Should Vivisection be Abolished?, 1907
- A Correspondence in "The Daily mail" Between Sir Victor Horsley and Walter R. Hadwen, on Vivisection (1908)
- A Debate on Is Vivisection Immoral, Cruel, Useless and Unscientific? (1908)
- Dr. Walter Robert Hadwen's Works, 1908
- A Vivisection Controversy, 1911
- Experiments on Living Animals, Useless and Cruel, 1914
- The Difficulties of Dr. Deguerre, 1926 (illustrated by Arthur Moreland)
See also
References
- ^ Alternatives to Laboratory Animals: ATLA. Vol. 37. Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments. 2009. p. 43.
- ^ Mitchell, Sally. (2004). Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian Feminist, Journalist, Reformer. University of Virginia Press. p. 360. ISBN 0-8139-2271-2
- ^ "Dr Walter Robert Hadwen". brethrenarchive.org. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Verdict of Manslaughter Against Dr. Hadwen by Coroner's Jury". Journal of the American Medical Association. 83 (14): 1090. 1924.
- ^ a b c Mills, Daniel S. (2010). The Encyclopedia of Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare. CABI. pp. 188-189. ISBN 9780851997247
- ^ The Times up to and including 30 October 1924.
- ^ "Acquittal of Dr. Hadwen". Journal of the American Medical Association. 83 (20): 1601. 1924.
- ^ "Topics of the Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
Further reading
- Who Was Dr Hadwen Biography at Dr Hadwen Trust.
- Walter Hadwen Biography by Walter Hawkins.
- Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853-1907, Nadja Durbach, 2005, Duke University Press, ISBN 0-8223-3423-2
- Hadwen of Gloucester: Man, Medico, Martyr, by Beatrice E. Kidd and M. Edith Richards, 1933, John Murray, London.
- Obituary, The Times, Saturday, 25 February 1933 John Murray, London, 1933.
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This page was last edited on 25 February 2024, at 14:17