Food and Feeding

The successful treatment of The King of the Belgians' bladder stone in 1863 made Henry Thompson a Victorian celebrity. However, this was upon an already established reputation and this famous episode formed but a small part of this fascinating man's life.

Born in Framingham in Suffolk in 1820 he initially followed his father's career as a tallow chandler and it was not until he was 28 that he entered University College London to study medicine. Thompson was twice awarded the Jacksonian prize from the Royal College of Surgeons for his essays on urethral stricture (1852) and prostatic disease (1860). He travelled to Paris to learn the new technique of lithotrity for closed removal of bladder stones under Jean Civiale. His specialist interest always remained the lower urinary tract. Thompson was not only a skilful surgeon; a man of many interests he aspired to become a notable expert in almost every one. However, once achieving mastery of a topic he seemed to bore of it and move on to his next challenge. Thompson was a serial hobbyist. Thompson beautifully illustrated his prize essays but his proficiency in art was not confined to medicine; he exhibited paintings at the Paris Salon and at The Royal Academy of Art thirteen times. After amassing the finest collection of Nanking porcelain in Europe he jointly illustrated a catalogue with the artist Whistler. He developed interests in astronomy and chicken breeding and wrote popular novels. After hearing a lecture on cremation he quickly took up the cause forming the Cremation society and was instrumental in legalizing the practice in the United Kingdom. Thompson wrote extensively on food and the healthy diet but was also a lover of fine cuisine. He entertained a huge circle of artistic, literary and influential friends and gave Octave dinner parties. Based on the musical scale, eight men were invited at eight o'clock to a meal of eight courses to promote a “feast of reason and the flow of soul.” In 1901, at the age of 80, his latest hobby became the motor car. Within a year he had worked out its “anatomy and physiology” and published an instructive book on the subject. (https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1016/j.juro.2013.02.684)