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Henry Gray

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Doctor

The Resume

    (1827-June 13, 1861)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Surgeon and anatomist
    Wrote ‘Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical,’ better known as ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ (1858)

Why he might be annoying:

    A review of the first edition of ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ in ‘The Medical Times and Gazette’ accused him of extensively plagiarizing from John Quain’s ‘Elements of Anatomy’ and included side-by-side comparisons of more than a dozen excerpts from the two books as evidence.
    The second edition added, without explanation, a paragraph – set in tiny type – acknowledging the contributions of twenty colleagues, including Quain.
    Despite the importance of the illustrations in ‘Gray’s Anatomy,’ he downplayed the contribution of artist Henry Vandyke Carter, including ordering the printers to reduce the font size of Carter’s credit on the title page.
    A medical historian wrote that his behavior toward Quain and Carter ‘reveal the vanity of an immature, insecure man.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society at the young age of 25.
    He died from smallpox that he contracted while caring for his ten-year-old nephew, who survived.
    Compared to earlier anatomy textbooks, his was ‘well-adapted to help anatomy students and surgeons, with a clear layout, easy navigation and greater clarity through new labelling techniques and advanced arrangement, making the text more readable and useful.’
    ’Gray’s Anatomy’ has remained a standard textbook for medical students.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 26 Votes: 53.85% Annoying