Nicholas Cambridge

Dr. Nicholas Cambridge is an Honorary Research Fellow in Humanities and Medical History at the University of Buckingham and a Visiting Scholar in Medical Humanities at Dalhousie University (2017). Previously, he practiced as a general physician in Surrey for 25 years while concurrently earning an MD in Medical History at University College London (UCL) part-time. His expertise bridges medicine, history, and literature, particularly focusing on Charles Dickens and 19th-century public health.

Education:

• HNC in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (1970)
• MB BS from The Middlesex Hospital (1977)
• MD in Medical History from University of London (part-time)

Research Interests:

• Charles Dickens' health and medical context
• Victorian public health and sanitation
• Medical electricity and its historical applications
• Medical histories of notable figures like Samuel Johnson, Erasmus Darwin, and Benjamin Franklin

Key Contributions:

• Authored Bleak Health, a seminal work on Dickens' family medical history
• Published extensively in journals like The Dickensian, Hunterian Society Transactions, and Transactions of the Medical Society of London
• Recipient of the Royal Society of Medicine’s first history of medicine prize

Professional Roles:

• Chair, Erasmus Darwin Foundation
• Chair, Charles Bell Group (preserving Middlesex Hospital legacy)
• Trustee, Medical Society of London
• Member of Dickens Fellowship and Senior Physicians Society

Lectures and Engagement: Delivered notable lectures on Dickens’ medical connections at Gresham College and the Charles Dickens Museum. His work intertwines medical, literary, and historical perspectives to illuminate Victorian health contexts.