Boland Patrick, Hughes Sean P
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States.
Imperial College London, London, UK.
J Med Biogr. 2023 Aug;31(3):160-167. doi: 10.1177/09677720211046588. Epub 2021 Oct 21.
William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde, made a significant contribution to ophthalmology and otology. Qualified as a surgeon. educated in statistics and showing sympathy for the Irish population, Wilde was appointed a Commissioner for the 1851 Census, which covered the time of the Irish Famine (1845-1852). Wilde, steeped in Irish mythology, used his knowledge to develop a close rapport with the Irish peasantry. However, his life was a paradox; he supported the British Government's approach to the Famine and at the same time he showed humanity to the Irish peasantry. In his personal life he was implicated in an abortive libel case involving a young female patient who had accused him of rape. Wilde lived as though he had two separate lives the successful surgeon, famine Commissioner and cataloguer of Irish antiquities, and the other a countryman and disciple of Irish mythology. Wilde was highly preceptive especially in his views on the recording of medical data and outcomes in clinical practice. We argue that Wilde was unmatched in the variety of his talents but was also perplexing in the various actions he took during his life and that indeed Wilde was an enigma.
奥斯卡·王尔德的父亲威廉·王尔德在眼科和耳科领域做出了重大贡献。他是一名合格的外科医生，接受过统计学教育，并且对爱尔兰民众怀有同情，因此被任命为1851年人口普查专员，此次普查涵盖了爱尔兰大饥荒时期（1845 - 1852年）。沉浸在爱尔兰神话中的王尔德，利用自己的知识与爱尔兰农民建立了密切的关系。然而，他的一生充满矛盾；他支持英国政府应对饥荒的方式，同时又对爱尔兰农民展现出人性关怀。在他的个人生活中，他卷入了一起失败的诽谤案，一名年轻女性患者指控他强奸。王尔德仿佛过着两种截然不同的生活：一面是成功的外科医生、饥荒专员和爱尔兰古物编目员，另一面是爱尔兰神话的信徒和乡下人。王尔德极具洞察力，尤其是在他对临床实践中医疗数据记录和结果的看法上。我们认为，王尔德才华横溢无人能及，但他一生的种种行为也令人困惑，他确实是个谜。
