Richard Caton is recognized as the
discoverer of the waves of electrical potential which today form the basis of
electroencephalography. Born in Bradford on 26th July 1842,
soon after graduating from Edinburgh Medical School, in 1868, he moved to
Liverpool and for the next half century served the city in a wide variety of
roles.
His first position in
Liverpool was assistant physician to the Liverpool Infirmary for Children.
He was physician to the Northern Hospital from 1876 to 1886 and
physician to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary from 1886 to 1902, where he became
consulting physician upon his retirement. He was Vice-Chairman of the Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine from its foundation in 1899.
Caton’s contribution to the city
extended considerably beyond his medical appointments, being heavily involved
in the establishment of the University of Liverpool, serving on the Court of Governors from the
institution’s first day. Caton was the first representative of Liverpool
University on the General Medical Council, an appointment that he occupied
until his death. He was a Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University from 1921 to 1924, and served for a
time as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
He served as President of the Liverpool Medical Institution in 1896 and was
President of the Liverpool Athenaeum Club. A Conservative, he served on the
city council and was Lord Mayor in 1907-8. A staunch Anglican, he served on the
building committee for the new Anglican cathedral.
He carried out pioneering research
into the electrical nature of the brain, reporting to the BMA in 1875 his use
of a galvanometer to observe electrical impulses from the surfaces of living
brains in the rabbit and monkey. This early work was for many years largely
forgotten but after his death Hans Berger acknowledged Caton’s early work in
his 1929 report on the discovery of alpha waves.
In 1885 he married Annie
Ivory (1855–1912), daughter of an Edinburgh Solicitor. They had two daughters,
Anne Rose and Mildred Robina. His first home in Liverpool seems to have been at
2 Balmoral Road L6 (now demolished), then moving to 8 Abercromby Square L7, the
house where his mother died in 1873. From 1890 to 1903 Caton lived in the
substantial mansion, Lee Hall, in Gateacre. Lee Hall was demolished in the late
1950’s, much of the attendant land being purchased for the establishment of Lee
Park Golf Club. He subsequently lived at Holly Lee, 3 Livingstone Drive South
L17, near Sefton Park. At the time of his death his residence was 7 Sunnyside,
Princes Park L8.
Richard Caton died on2nd January
1926 at Haslemere, having moved to Surrey for his health. He was buried,
alongside his wife, at All Saints Church, Childwall.
