Clarke was born at
Olney, Buckinghamshire; his father and grandfather were prosperous
lace merchants. After one or two brief apprenticeships, in 1828 he was placed under C. Snitch, a general practitioner, in Brydges Street, Covent Garden. Here he managed to get the run of
Thomas Cadell the younger's library in the
Strand, and became acquainted with literature and literary people. In October 1833 Clarke entered at Dermott's Medical School in Gerrard Street, Soho, as a medical student. For a time he acted as Dermott's amanuensis, and afterwards aided
Michael Ryan in the
London Medical and Surgical Journal. In 1834
Robert Liston noticed a report by Clarke of one of his cases, and introduced him to
Thomas Wakley, editor of
The Lancet; who took on Clarke. He became a clinical reporter at hospitals, and also was for many years reported on medical societies, ducking most of the rows which
The Lancet provoked. He died on 6 July 1875. ==Works==