Minutes of the Birmingham Institution for the Relief of Deafness (subsequently incorporated into Birmingham Ear and Throat Infirmary)

Minutes of the meetings of the Committee of the Birmingham Institution for the Relief of Deafness and of Annual General Meetings of the subscribers to the Institution from November 1844 to November 1878 including General, Financial and Surgeons Reports, in both handwritten and printed form. There is a gap in the sequence of minutes between August 1853 and October 1859

William Dufton (1803-59) was born at Brigham, Cumberland, the younger son of John Dufton. Although he spent much of his early life in the north of England, he was educated at Borough Hospital, London, and Jervis Street Hospital, Dublin. From 1831 until his death he was a surgeon at Birmingham. He established the Birmingham Institute for the Relief of Deafness and was its sole medical officer from 1844 to 1859. He was recognized as the chief consulting practitioner in the Midlands for deafness. In 1844 he published his major work, 'The Nature and Treatment of Deafness and the Treatment of the Deaf and Dumb.'

The Birmingham Institution for the Relief of Deafness was established "for the relief of Poor Persons afflicted with deafness" in November 1844. Lord Calthorpe was president and William Dufton as surgeon of the institution. After Dufton's death, the post of surgeon was taken by Dr Charles Warden. The charity was amalgamated with the Birmingham Ear and Throat Infirmary in 1871.

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Purchased at the auction of the library of the late Dr Benjamin Tillett Davis, at Phillips, 16 June 1999.