OBITUARY

BENJAMIN HUNT, M.D., M.R.C.P., 

WE record, with much regret, the death of Dr. Hunt, one of the

honorary physicians of the Queen's Hospital, Birmingham. The

youngest son of the late Rev. Thomas Maxwell Hunt, vicar of

Oulton, Norfolk, and born in the year 1828, Benjamin Hunt was

educated at University College, London. Shortly after being admitted

a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, in

1849, he was appointed house-surgeon to University College Hospital.

In 1857, he went to Birmingham, and was elected senior

house-surgeon at the Queen's Hospital, in succession to the late Mr.

J. F. West; after holding this office for about two years, he became

an honorary officer of the hospital in the capacity of ophthalmic

surgeon in the newly formed department for diseases of the eye.

Pursuing general practice in Birmingham, Mr. Hunt became one of

the surgeons of the Ear and Throat Infirmary. He held this appointment for several years, and applied himself with energy and

success to the treatment of the special disorders whiclh came under

his notice. Having taken the degree of M.D. in the University of

St. Andrew's, Dr. Hunt relinquished general practice, was admitted

a member of the Royal College of Physiciars of London in the year

1875, and was appointed, in 1878, upon the resignation of Dr.

Mackey, one of the honorary physicians to the Queen's Hospital.

This latter office he held until his death. At the Queen's Hospital,

Dr. Hunt applied himself, with unremitting diligence and regularity,

to his duties as a physician and a clinical teacher; and he took an

important share in the administration of the charity, as Chairman

of the Medical Committee, and in the management of the Birmingham

Medical School, as a member of the Clinical Board of the

General and Queen's Hospitals. Modest and retiring in disposition,

conscientious in the performance of duty, courteous in bearing, with

kindliness of heart and manner, and solid reliability of character,

Dr. Hunt was popular with his colleagues, beloved by his pupils, and

widely respected by his professional brethren and a large circle of

friends. Until a fortnight before his death, he discharged his hospital

and private professional duties with his accustomed fidelity,

and he appeared to be in his usual good health. His useful life was

abruptly terminated in its prime by an unfortunate illness, which

proved rapidly fatal, and which supervened upon the performance

of a comparatively trivial surgical operation, for the relief of haemorrhoids, after which procedure he unwisely failed to rest from work,but pursued his arduous practice as usual. Rigors and febrile.disturbance became manifest, and it was soon too clear that Dr. Hunt was sinking from severe pymmia, marked by the usual articular complications. He died at his residence in George Road, Edgbaston,on the morning of September 3rd.

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