Development of the hospital The original block of St Mary's Hospital in Norfolk Place was designed by
Thomas Hopper in the
classical style. It first opened its doors to patients in 1851, the last of the great
voluntary hospitals to be founded. Among St Mary's founders was the surgeon
Isaac Baker Brown, a controversial figure who performed numerous
clitoridectomies at the London Surgical Home, his hospital for women, and who "immediately set to work to remove the
clitoris whenever he had the opportunity of doing so." It was at St Mary's Hospital that
C.R. Alder Wright first synthesized
diamorphine in 1874. The Clarence Memorial Wing, designed by
Sir William Emerson and built with its main frontage on Praed Street, opened in 1904. It was at the hospital that
Alexander Fleming discovered
penicillin in 1928. Fleming's laboratory has been restored and incorporated into a museum about the discovery and his life and work. it was financed by businessman and hospital board member Frank Charles Lindo, who made a large donation before his death in 1938. Also in 1937 the
Lewis Carroll Ward for children was opened by the
Queen. The ward was decorated with
tile panels depicting scenes from Carroll's
Alice in Wonderland. Following the 1944 publication of a report by Sir
William Goodenough advocating a minimum size for teaching hospitals, and following the formation of the
National Health Service in the 1948, several local hospitals became affiliated to St Mary's Hospital. These included
Paddington General Hospital, the
Samaritan Hospital for Women and the
Western Eye Hospital. In the 1950s, Felix Eastcott, a consultant surgeon and deputy director of the surgical unit at St Mary's Hospital, carried out pioneering work on
carotid endarterectomy designed to reduce the risk of
stroke. Paddington General Hospital closed and relocated services to the Paddington basin site in November 1986
Notable births Royal family •
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 1974) son of the
Duke and
Duchess of Gloucester •
Lady Davina Windsor (born 1977) daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester •
Peter Phillips (born 1977)son of
the Princess Royal and
Mark Phillips •
Lord Frederick Windsor (born 1979)son of
Prince and
Princess Michael of Kent •
Lady Rose Gilman (born 1980) daughter of
Duke and
Duchess of Gloucester •
Zara Tindall (born 1981)daughter of the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips •
Lady Gabriella Kingston (born 1981) daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent •
William, Prince of Wales (born 1982)first son of
King Charles III and
Diana, Princess of Wales •
Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark (born 1983)daughter of the
King Constantine II of Greece and
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece •
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (born 1984) second son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales •
Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark (born 1986) son of
King Constantine II of Greece and
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece •
Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 1988) son of
George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews and
Sylvana Windsor, Countess of St Andrews •
Prince George of Wales (born 2013) first son of William, Prince of Wales, and
Catherine, Princess of Wales •
Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015) daughter of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales •
Prince Louis of Wales (born 2018) – second son of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales
Other notable births •
Seal (born 1963) British musician •
Olivia Robertson (1917–2013) author, co-founder and High Priestess of the
Fellowship of Isis •
Elvis Costello (born 1954) British musician •
Kiefer Sutherland (born 1966) Canadian actor •
Lady Charlotte Wellesley (born 1990)daughter of the 9th Duke of Wellington •
Michael Page (born 1987)British professional boxer and mixed martial artist •
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp (born 1994)
heir apparent to the
Spencer earldom, nephew of Diana, Princess of Wales and first cousin of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex •
Admiral Schofield (born 1997) American basketball player, currently with the
Orlando Magic Notable staff and alumni •
Arthur Cecil Alport physician who first identified
Alport syndrome in 1927 •
Roger Bannister first man to run a
four-minute mile, professor of neurology •
Dorothy Bannon – matron 1922–1928, subsequently first Chief Matron-in-Charge of the
London County Council Hospital and School Nursing Service •
Aleck Bournegynaecologist best known for his 1938 trial, a landmark case in abortion law •
William Broadbent 19th-century neurologist and cardiologist •
John Scott Burdon-Sanderson Regius Professor of
Medicine at the
University of Oxford and
Royal Medal winner •
J. Jackson Clarke pathologist, surgeon, and cancer researcher •
Leonard Colebrook physician and bacteriologist,
MBBS in 1906, who, in 1935, showed
Prontosil was effective against
haemolytic streptococcus of
puerperal fever •
Zachary Cope – surgeon and medical historian •
Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham Health Minister •
Alexander Fleming awarded the
Nobel Prize for discovery of
penicillin •
Nim Hall England rugby captain •
John Henry clinical
toxicologist who did crucial work on
poisoning and
drug overdose •
Amanda Herbert cytopathologist and
histopathologist, editor of
Cytopathology from 2008 to 2014 and co-editor of
Eurocytology.eu •
Albert Neuberger professor of chemical
pathology •
Tom Oppé professor of paediatrics •
Tuppy Owen-Smith international rugby player and cricketer •
William Stanley Peart professor of medicine, isolated and determined the structure of
angiotensin •
Rodney Robert Porter awarded the
Nobel Prize for research on the chemical structure of
antibodies •
Bernard Spilsbury pathologist and one of the pioneers of modern
forensic medicine •
Joseph Toynbee otologist •
Augustus Waller whose research led to the invention of the
electrocardiogram (ECG) •
J. P. R. Williams international rugby player •
Almroth Wright advanced
vaccination through the use of
autogenous vaccines •
Charles Romley Alder Wright first person to synthesize heroin in 1874 •
Wu Lien-tehlater to be the Plague fighter of China ==Associations==