Person
Tidswell, Frank (1867 - 1941)
- Born
- 1867
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 26 February 1941
Paddington, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Medical scientist and Pathologist
Summary
Frank Tidswell is considered one of Australia's pioneering microbiologists. For 20 years he was employed by the New South Wales Government, notably as Director of the Bureau of Microbiology from 1908 to 1913. He undertook some of the earliest studies on snake venom, producing the first antivenom for tiger snake venom, discovering in the process that it was not effective against poisoning by other snakes. During the course of research with John Ashburton Thompson and William George Armstrong into the aetiology of the plague, Tidswell made the first recorded observation of the presence of plague bacilli in the gut of the rat flea. With Charles Martin he investigated the femoral gland the male platypus, finding the poison to be very similar to that of Australian snakes. Tidswell published the first data on venom yields of Australian snakes. Other research was into the poison of the redback spider, the development of a vaccine against tick fever, and on proposals for the eradication of rabbits. In 1913, Tidswell resigned from government service, and established a successful private practice. He was Director of Pathology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children from 1925 to 1941.
Details
Chronology
- 1892
- Education - MB ChM, University of Sydney
- 1893
- Education - Diploma of Public Health, University of Cambridge
- 1893 - 1897
- Career position - Pathologist, New South Wales Board of Health
- 1897
- Career position - Demonstrator in Physiology, University of Sydney
- 1898 - 1908
- Career position - Principal Assistant Medical Officer and Microbiologist, Analytical laboratory, New South Wales Board of Health
- 1904
- Career position - President, Section I (Sanitary Science and Hygiene), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1908 - 1913
- Career position - Director, Bureau of Microbiology, New South Wales
- 1913 - 1925
- Career position - In private practice
- 1925 - 1941
- Career position - Director of Pathology, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Books
- Tidswell, F., Researches on Australian venoms: snake-bite, snake-venom, and antivenine; the poison of the platypus, the poison of the red-spotted spider (Sydney: New South Wales Department of Public Health, 1906), 79 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Tyler, Peter J., '"A pathologist of distinction": Frank Tidswell, 1867 - 1941' in Individuals & institutions in the history of medicine: proceedings of the 6th biennial conference of The Australian Society of the History of Medicine, Sydney, Australian Society of the History of Medicine; [compiled by Louella McCarthy], ed. (Sydney: Organising Committee of the 6th Biennial Conference of the Australia Society of the History of Medicine, 1999), pp. 1-4. Details
Journal Articles
- Cleland, J. B., 'Obituary: Frank Tidswell', Medical journal of Australia (1941). Details
- Tidswell, F., 'Some practical aspects of the plague in Sydney', Journal of the Sanitary Institute, 21 (4) (1900), 550-80. Details
- Tidswell, F., 'A preliminary note on the serum therapy of snake-bite', Australasian medical gazette, 21 (1902), 177-81. Details
See also
- Morison, Patricia, The Martin spirit: Charles Martin and the foundation of biological science in Australia (Canberra: Halstead Press, 2019), 296 pp. Details
- Pearn, John and Winkel, Kenneth D., 'Toxinology in Australia's Colonial Era: a Chronology and Perspective of Human Envenomation in 19th Century Australia', Toxicon, 48 (7) (2006), 726-737. Details
- Winkel, Kenneth D.; Mirtschin, Peter and Pearn, John, 'Twentieth Century Toxinology and Antivenom development in Australia', Toxicon, 48 (7) (2006), 738-754 . Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 8 September 2022