Henry Gray was born to Thomas Gray, a King's
Messenger, and his wife Ann Nee Walker in 1827. He was born at 8 Wilton Street, London where he would reside until his death. He began his medical education at
Saint George's Hospital (near
Hyde Park) in 1845. He was an eager student, and three years later in 1848 he won the
triennial prize of the
Royal College of Surgeons for his essay on the
nerves of the human eye. By 1852, he had become a Fellow of
The Royal Society of London. Aside from getting to join cool clubs, his career was also on the upswing as he climbed the ladder from a
demonstrator of anatomy to
curator of the museum and finally to
lecturer on anatomy at
Saint George's.
In 1858 Gray published the first edition of
his Anatomy, which rapidly became the ultimate authority for anatomy students throughout the world. A second edition appeared in 1860. Much of the success of this classic work was due to the beautiful
illustrations by Dr H Vandyke Carter.
In 1861 Gray was about to be appointed Assistant Surgeon at
Saint George's: a rare honor for a man of only 34. He had recently become engaged to a
Miss Winter. However, while attending his
nephew, who had
smallpox, Henry himself contracted the disease and died.
sources:
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/gray_henry_a2.html
http://www.btinternet.com/~tcscott/gamm.htm