Description:A Biography of James Vose Soloman from the Handsworth Magazine.
The late Mr James Vose Solomon, F.R.C.S., of whom our frontispiece is a speaking likeness, resided for many years at Villa-franca, Hamstead Road, where he died on the 20th ult., at the patriarchal age of 82.
Mr Vose-Solomon was born in Dale End, Birmingham, in 1817 and educated in Heathfield Road, Handsworth, under the Rev. Daniel Walton and afterwards at Warwick. His father was a Physician practising in Birmingham, and he himself was destined from his youth for the medical profession. In due course he was apprenticed to Mr T Taylor, Surgeon, Bennett's Hill, and this followed up by a course of study at the General Hospital, Birmingham, and St Bartholomew's Hospital London. Mr Vose-Solomon became fully qualified for practice in 1838 by being admitted to the licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries. He also became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, England and in 1854 he was elected a fellow of the college. For some time he practised general surgery both privately and in connection with various institutions. Among the general appointments he held at various periods were those of medical officer to the King's Norton Union, surgeon to the Borough Goal, to the Licensed Victuallers Asylum, to the Birmingham General Dispensary and to the Birmingham and Midland Orthopaedic Hospital. At an early age of his career, however, he became interested in opthalmic surgery in which on the death of Mr Richard Middlemore he was reckoned the leader in Birmingham, while in the country generally he was recognised as being in the front rank. In the development of the Birmingham Eye Hospital he played an important part and the scheme for building the new hospital in Edmund Street, with the subsequent extension of the institution found in him a very active supporter. For many years he was the honorary surgeon to the hospital and on his retirement, now some years ago, he was in recognition of his valuable services elected honorary consulting surgeon. Mr Solomon’s fame rested not only on the fact of his being an exceedingly skilful and expert operator, but on his contributions to opthalmological literature. He invented and practised with success a new operation for strabismus and made other improvements in ophthalmic surgery. His first work is entitled “Tension of the Eyeball; Glaucoma – operations practised in the nineteenth century, with cases etc.” Subsequently he published “Epiphora, or Watery Eye” and “Observations on some injuries to the Eye”. He was one of the original members of the Ophthalmic Society of the United Kingdom to whose transactions he contributed several papers including “Myoma of the Ciliary Muscle” and “Melano-Sarcomatus Tumour of the Iris.” His contributions on surgical and pathological subjects to the professional journals were very numerous. Among them he wrote for the ”Lancet” “Employment of Counter-irritation in Ophthalmic Diseases” (1870) a “Clinical Lecture on Congenital Cataract” (1885), “Clinical Notes on the Tarsal Tumour” (1885), and for the “Medical Times” “The Value of Incision of the Ciliary Muscle in certain Diseases of the Eye” (1861). For some years he was the Professor of ophthalmic surgery at Queen’s College, Birmingham, and the conference he enjoyed among his colleagues and medical men generally was shown by the position he occupied in various organisations. In 1869 he founded the Birmingham and Midland Counties Branch of the British Medical Association of which he was the first president. In 1886 he was elected president of the Birmingham Medical Institute. He also served as a member of the International Ophthalmic Congress; while at the jubilee meeting of the British Medical Association held at Worcester in 1882, he received the high distinction of being asked to act as president of the Ophthalmic Section, to which he delivered a most important address on the development of this branch of medicine and surgery. His experience as a general practitioner was of great service to him throughout his career and the effect of the general bodily health upon the organ of sight and its functions always received due consideration in his advice and treatment.
In his social relations, Mr Vose-Solomon was as highly esteemed as he was in his professional life. He married about fifty years ago Miss Baker, the daughter of a Devonshire surgeon, by whom he had five children, four being daughters. One of his favourite recreations was hunting and he was for many years well known as a follower of the Warwickshire hounds.
The deceased gentleman was largely instrumental in starting the Free Library movement at Handsworth and his interest in education was also shown in his labours on behalf of St Michael’s schools some years ago. For many years he was a member of the Union Club and was for long connected with the Howe Lodge of Freemasons, of which he was a past provincial grand master.
In politics he was Liberal until the Gladstonian split when he gave his adherence to the Unionist party.
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The war with the Boers is already adding to the list of Sunday touts. Each Sabbath Handsworth Streets are invaded by lads crying “War Special” and a host of horrors that were happily imaginative only. Since this kind of thing has begun so soon, what may we expect when there really is war?