The marriage (1878) of Emile Roux (1853–1933) and Rose Anna Shedlock (b. c. 1850)

摘要

The great French scientist Emile Roux is widely believed to have been a confirmed bachelor, who on occasion expressed his antipathy towards marriage. However, UK records show that in August 1878 he married Rose Anna Shedlock in London. Her subsequent fate is unknown. While Roux became famous, his marriage remained a secret. nnThe first marriage between two British doctors was that of Frances Morgan (1843–1927; MD Zurich, 1870) and George Hoggan (1837–91; MD Edinburgh, 1872) on 1 April 1874. The witnesses were William Bowman Macleod (1843–99) and Rose Anna Shedlock. Macleod, a dentist, was the first Dean of the Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School; President of the British Dental Association in 1895;1 and in March 1890 he spoke to The Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland on ‘the effects of bagpipe playing on the teeth’.2 As Dean he accepted Lilian Lindsay (1871–1960) as the UK's first woman dental student; she gained the Edinburgh LDS in 1895; it was 1913 before a woman gained an English LDS.3 Rose Anna Shedlock, born in Merton, Surrey about 1850,4 was the daughter of the Rev John Shedlock (b. c. 1815), an independent minister, and his wife Emma; they had at least eight children.5 nnRose Anna married in 1878; the certificate (Figure 1) shows that the union was solemnized in Southwark, in the Register Office of the District of St Olave. The name of the groom – Pierre Paul Émile Roux – was a surprise. His personal details in the certificate – age (24), profession (Chemist), name and profession of father (John Roux (d. c. 1862), Principal, Educational College, France) – clearly suggest he was the Emile Roux destined to become one of Pasteur's main assistants and, for a while, the only medically qualified one.