- George Busk
George Busk RN FRS (
12 August 1807 –10 August 1886 ), was a British Naval surgeon,zoologist andpalaeontologist .Busk was born in
St Petersburg , the son of the merchant Robert Busk.He studied surgery in
London , at both St Thomas' and St Bartholomew'shospital s, and was appointed assistant-surgeon to theGreenwich Hospital in 1832. He served as naval surgeon first in the "HMS Grampus".Later Busk served for many years in "HMS Dreadnought", which had fought at Trafalgar In Busk's time it was used by the
Seamen's Hospital Society as a hospital ship for ex-members of theMerchant Navy or fishing fleet and their dependants. During this period Busk made important observations oncholera and onscurvy .In 1855, he retired from service and settled in
London , where he devoted himself mainly to the study of zoology and palaeontology. As early as 1842, he assisted in editing the "Microscopical Journal"; and later he edited the "Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science" (1853-68) and the "Natural History Review " (1861-65). He was a member of the famousX-Club founded by Huxley, which was active in revitalising science in the period 1865-1885. Busk and his wife Ellen were close friends of Huxley.From 1856-59, he was Hunterian Professor of
Comparative Anatomy andPhysiology in the Royal College of Surgeons, and he became President of the college in 1871. He was electedFellow of the Royal Society in 1850. Busk was an active member of the Linnean Society, the Geological Society and president of the Anthropological Institute (1873-74). He received the Royal Society'sRoyal Medal and the Geological Society's Wollaston and Lyell medals.He was the leading authority on the
Polyzoa ; and later thevertebrate remains fromcavern s andriver -deposits occupied his attention. He was a patient and cautious investigator, full of knowledge, and unaffectedly simple in character. He died in London on the10 August 1886 , and is buried atKensal Green Cemetery , London.Awards
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