Memorials to Memorable Medics: Discoveries, Inventions and other claims to fame - Dr. Neil Gabriel Snowise

There have been many famous medical doctors whose achievements are commemorated throughout the UK by different memorials. These include blue plaques, statues and busts for some, while others have entire museums dedicated to their contributions.

Did you know that, over the past 300 years, there are several pubs named after famous doctors, and even a beer named after a female medic? Where would you find four statues commemorated in a 2023 memorial sculpture, to remember those caring for Covid-19 patients? Where is the newest statue of the co-discoverer of insulin to be found in the UK? All these questions and much more are fully explored in nearly 200 pages.

Combining history and biography, alongside many colour photographs, Neil Snowise takes readers on a journey to uncover memorials over the past 300 years. Not only are the medics' achievements impressive, but often the memorials tell their own tale - several statues have been replaced, controversially relocated or even stolen. The book includes some well-known and celebrated doctors, as well as some lesser-known ones with unusual memorials which are combined in an eclectic and personal way. The text describes their scientific achievements and contribution to history, in terms which can be easily understood and appreciated by both medical and lay readers.

There are several medical doctors who achieved fame not by practising medicine, but by other means, including the apothecary and romantic poet Keats, Conan Doyle, the inventor of Sherlock Holmes and W.G. Grace, the ‘father of cricket,’ amongst others. Their stories are no less interesting, and they all have many significant memorials. It’s a fascinating book to delve into for fun facts, browse to educate and inform, and a travelogue to enthuse you to go and seek out many of these memorials all over the UK.

Publisher: Independently published

Published: August 2026

Format: Paperback

Pages: 190

Dimensions: 17.78 x 1.14 x 25.4 cm