Thomas Blizard Curling

Not to be confused with Thomas Blizard.

Thomas Blizard Curling (1811 – 4 March 1888) was a British surgeon.^[1]

Thomas Blizard Curling

He was born in Tavistock Place, London in 1811, the son of civil servant Daniel and Elizabeth (née Blizard) Curling and educated at Manor House, Chiswick. Without a degree but through the influence of his surgeon great uncle, Sir William Blizard, he became assistant-surgeon to the Royal London Hospital in 1833, becoming full surgeon in 1849. In 1834 he won the Jacksonian prize for his investigations on tetanus; and he became famous for his skill in treating diseases of the testes and rectum, his published works on which went through many editions.^[2] A stress ulcer resulting from burns is called a Curling's ulcer after him.^[3]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1850.^[4] After filling other important posts in the College of Surgeons, he was appointed president of the College in 1873.^[2] In 1871, he was elected President of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society.

He died in Cannes, France on 4 March 1888.