Early Life
John Thomas M.D., born in Hoxton Square, Hackney, London, on April 12, 1805, was the son of a Dissenting minister, also named John Thomas. His family is reputed to be descended from French Huguenot refugees. His family moved frequently, as his father took up various pastorships including a congregation in London, a brief but eventful stay in northern Scotland, back to London, and then up to Chorley, Lancashire. John Thomas was a very disciplined student having taught himself Hebrew as a teenager. At the age of 16, in Chorley, he began studying medicine. His family moved back to London, but John Thomas stayed in Chorley. After two years, he returned to London to continue his studies at the Guy's and St. Thomas's hospitals for a further three years. He trained as a surgeon and had a keen interest in chemistry and biology, publishing several learned medical articles for The Lancet, one of which argued in favour of the importance of the use of corpses for the study of medicine (it was illegal in England to dissect them at this time).
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