Thomas Elliot, 1817-1859; a forgotten ophthalmologist.

But Doctor, it's only Jimmie's right eye that has the cast. Why must you operate on the other one as well? How often has a puzzled parent confronted us with that question and, before answering, who among us has ever wondered what brave man first grasped his courage and advanced his scalpel at the " good eye "? That man died almost one hundred years ago; he lived in the then remote town of Carlisle, and he was a Scotsman called Tom Elliot. The Carlisle Patriot of October 22, 1859, published a long and graceful obituary: