This book describes the life and work of a pioneering doctor, professor of forensic medicine and Birmingham’s first coroner, John Birt Davies (1799-1878). Meticulously researched and written in a clear style for non-specialists, it will appeal to all those interested in Victorian social history, the history of medicine and coronial history.
From the political and social turmoil of early nineteenth century Britain, a young Welsh doctor emerged in Birmingham to play a leading role in the transformation of the town as physician, political activist, medical reformer, and the borough’s first and most distinctive coroner.
Fearless campaigner, socially aware, driven, and fiercely independent, John Birt Davies had unique access to the lives and deaths of ordinary citizens during this tumultuous time. He looked after the health of all classes of people, from the families of Lunar Society celebrities to those of the poor and vulnerable living in slums and workhouses. And he played a major role in establishing Birmingham’s first medical school and its teaching hospital.
As coroner Birt Davies was committed to ensuring that all, especially the humblest, received impartial justice without fear or favour. During his long career he presided over an astonishing thirty thousand inquests. Accounts of these give unparalleled insight into how his contemporaries dealt with sudden, unexplained and violent deaths, including suicides, murders and massive fatalities in arms factories, revealing a great deal about popular attitudes and beliefs in the Victorian era.
‘Birt Davies’s achievements as coroner were extraordinary, not just because he tackled the role with such energy and dedication but also because he was able to see beyond the individual inquests to the wider social reforms that were so clearly needed.‘
Available in paperback and e-book versions from bookshops, from the publisher here, or from online booksellers.