336 Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



SIR JOHN SIMON. 18161904. 



JOHN SIMON was born on October 10, 1816, and died on 

 July 23, 1904. His grandfather, a native of Montargis, in France, 

 appears to have settled in London, for purposes of trade, towards the 

 close of the 18th century, and married an English wife. His only son, 

 who was educated in England, became in due time a member of the 

 Stock Exchange, and for over 30 years (1848-79) served on the 

 General Purposes Committee of that body, and took a leading part in 

 its business. By his second marriage, to Mademoiselle Matilda Nonnet, 

 he became the father of a large family, of whom the subject of this 

 notice was the eldest. John Simon was therefore in greater measure 

 French than English, for he was of French descent, not only through 

 his mother, but also through his paternal grandfather.* 



Simon received his education at the well-known school of Dr. Burney, 

 nephew of the author of " Evelina." After seven years at school he 

 spent about a year in Germany in order to learn the language. On his 

 return to London, in 1833, he began his professional studies in the 

 way that was, at that time, thought best fitted for the purpose. 

 Seventy years ago, and for long after, the first step towards acquiring 

 the requisite knowledge and skill for the exercise of the medical art 

 was to serve an apprenticeship. In Simon's case the method had 

 great advantages. He was apprenticed to Mr. J. H. Green, F.E.S., 

 Surgeon to St. Thomas' Hospital, who was not only a most dis- 

 tinguished surgeon, but a scholar and a man of letters. Under 

 Mr, Green's direction he spent the four years 1833-7 in the study of 

 anatomy, physiology and surgery, and on his recommendation was 

 appointed, in the latter year, immediately after passing his professional 

 examination, Demonstrator of Anatomy and Assistant Surgeon in 

 King's College Hospital. These positions he held for nine years 

 (1838-47) years which afforded him leisure for a variety of non- 

 professional studies, rather literary than scientific. It appears indeed 

 that it was not until the end of his official service at King's College 

 that he began to take a vivid interest in physiological science, 

 evidencing his capacity for scientific inquiry by offering to the Eoyal 

 Society a paper on the comparative anatomy of the Thyroid Gland, the 

 importance of which the Royal Society recognised by promptly electing 

 its author to the Fellowship. In 1847 Simon was appointed Lecturer 



* Notwithstanding that the name Simon was originally French, it was usually 

 pronounced as if it were German. 



