Month: May 2020

Dr. James Parkinson (1755-1824) from London was quite the polymath, making strides not only in medicine but also geology and paleontology. He also actively campaigned for universal medical welfare and protection for the mentally ill. Parkinson was one of thirteen founder members of the Geological Society of London in 1807, along with Sir Humphry Davy and he authored three volumes of ‘Organic Remains of the Former World’ (1804-11).

However, his name is best associated with the neurological condition analysed in his 1817 paper, ‘An Essay on the Shaking Palsy’. This describes the “involuntary tremulous motion, with lessened muscular power, in parts not in action and even when supported, with a propensity to bend the trunk forwards..”. The Royal College of Surgeons awarded Parkinson their 1822 Honorary Gold Medal for distinguished research and discoveries.

The ailment was named Parkinson’s Disease from 1876 and its incidence is increasing, unfortunately. There are sub-types and different stages, with the worst accompanied by dementia and the sufferer being wheelchair-bound. In 1812 Parkinson’s son John, also a doctor, was the first to publish findings on the perforation of the appendix leading to death. Coincidentally, a 2018 study (Killinger, B.A. et al) indicates a correlation between early appendectomy and a reduced risk of Parkinson’s Disease.

(Image: wallpaperflare.com)

By 1871 the mapping of India was the most detailed of any country in the world, thanks to the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, begun in 1802. This British project was headed in turn by four military men in the role of Surveyor General. These were Lt.Col. William Lambton (1753-1823), Col. Sir George Everest (1790-1866), Maj.Gen. Sir Andrew Scott Waugh (1810-78) and finally Capt. James Walker (1826-96).

The second of these gentlemen, Everest (pronounced “Eve-rest”), worked on the Survey from 1818 to 1843 and his successor, Waugh, arranged for the newly-measured Himalayan Peak XV on the Nepal-Tibet border to be named after him, i.e. Mount Everest (nowadays pronounced “Ever-est”). Everest objected as the mountain already had a name ~ Sagarmatha ~ meaning ‘mother of the universe’.

Waugh’s accolade of Everest may well have been due to his legacy of highly accurate maps produced with the latest mechanical instruments. His calculations included the 11.5-degree meridional arc from the Himalayas to the southernmost tip of India. This involved advanced mathematics which had to take into account the Earth’s irregular curvature, light refraction and the effect of heat on the metal instruments and 100ft.-long chains. Everest’s expertise contributed to a survey which turned out to be accurate to within 0.09% of modern-day GPS measurements.

(Image: NASA at Wikimedia Commons / Public domain)