Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1203

JOHN HASLAM (1764-1844) Observations on madness and melancholy. J. Callow 1809 2nd ed. vii [1] 345 pp. 21.4 cm.

Haslam's place in the history of psychiatry is secure although not entirely unimpeachable. He served as medical officer to Bethlem Hospital, the largest asylum in England, where, with his chief, Thomas Monro, he had the opportunity to study a large number of patients. Although a keen observer with wide experience (he is sometimes regarded as the first to describe general paralysis of the insane), he advocated and allowed practices which can only be described as inhumane. In 1816, he and Monro were dismissed by the Governors of Bethlem for gross malpractice. Haslam regarded Observations on madness and melancholy as his major accomplishment, and for some years it was regarded as the outstanding work in the field.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4794 (1798 ed.); Waller 4135; Wellcome III, p. 221