From mourning to scientific legacy: commemorating Lister in London and Scotland

Abstract

This paper examines the changing methods, underlying motives, clienteles and controversy surrounding posthumous commemorations of Lord Lister in Britain. The importance of the commemorations for professional identity formation continues throughout the twentieth century, but World War I appears as a turning point. The constituencies commemorating Lister change from broadly international, national and civic with an emphasis on fundraising, to more narrowly professional; the use of religious imagery is notable after the war in the debates in the 1920s; and as his students, so central to the creation and preservation of his image, die, the focus begins to shift from the man and his achievements, ‘the great benefactor of mankind’, to his legacy in the current state of subjects related to his work. The changing nature of the commemorations suggests that although Lister's precise position in the history of surgery is contentious today, his importance as an iconic figure in the history of the medical profession is secure.