Subject Profile: Sir Henry Thompson, 1st Baronet (1820–1904)

• Who He Was: A prominent Victorian surgeon (F.R.C.S. - Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons), author, and polymath.

• Medical Achievements: He was surgeon-extraordinary to King Leopold I of Belgium and King Leopold II, as well as personal surgeon to Queen Victoria's family. He specialized in urology and operated on Emperor Napoleon III.

• Cultural Legacy: Beyond medicine, he was a key founder and the first president of the Cremation Society of Great Britain (1874), helping to legalize and popularize cremation in the UK. He was also an accomplished artist, amateur astronomer, and held famous "Octave" dinner parties attended by Victorian elite.

Photo Details

• The Photographer: Herbert Rose Barraud (H. R. Barraud) (1845–1896), one of Victorian London's premier portrait photographers, operating out of 263 Oxford Street. His photography studio was famous for taking portraits of high-society figures, royalty, and prominent men of science.

• The Publication / Date: This image comes from a major 1870s/1880s biographical series—most likely "The Medical Profession in All Countries" (1873–1874) by Barraud & Jerrard, or Barraud’s celebrated portfolio series "Men and Women of the Day" (late 1880s).

• The Process: It is a Woodburytype or high-grade Carbon Print mounted on cardstock, which accounts for its sharpness and lack of fading over 140+ years.