Sir Henry Thompson

A carte-de-visite portrait of Sir Henry Thompson, who in 1873 operated on Napoléon III to crush the bladder stones that had for so long caused him so much pain. The Emperor died during the operation.

An inked inscription in a fine period hand reads: 'Sir H. Thompson M.D. was the surgeon to the late Emperor N. and also to Leopold 1st, King of the Belgians / January 1873.'

According to the website Virtual Museum / Books & Articles on People in Urology, Thompson was 'much more than a urologist or even a surgeon. Sir Henry Thompson’s interests were broad and varied and ranged from poultry farming, painting and astronomy to the collecting of rare porcelain.'

Photographed by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company.