Wilfred Trotter
| Wilfred Trotter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 3 November 1872 Coleford, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 25 November 1939 (aged 67) Blackmoor, Hampshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields |
surgery social psychology |
| Known for |
neurosurgery herd instinct |
| Notable awards | Fellow of the Royal Society |
Wilfred Batten Lewis Trotter, FRS (3 November 1872 – 25 November 1939) was an English surgeon, a pioneer in neurosurgery. He was also known for his studies on social psychology, most notably for his concept of the herd instinct, which he first outlined in two published papers in 1908, and later in his famous popular work Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War, an early classic of crowd psychology. Trotter argued that gregariousness was an instinct, and studied beehives, flocks of sheep and wolf packs.
Born in Coleford, Gloucestershire in 1872, Trotter moved to London to attend college at age 16. An excellent medical student, he decided to specialise in surgery and was appointed Surgical Registrar at University College Hospital in 1901 and Assistant Surgeon in 1906. He opened his own practice after obtaining his medical degree. He was also a keen writer, with an interest in science and philosophy. In 1908, he published two papers on the subject of herd mentality, which were precursors to his later, more famous, work.
Working at University College Hospital in London as professor of surgery, he held the office of Honorary Surgeon to King George V from 1928 to 1932. He was also a member of the Council of the Royal Society that conferred their Honorary Membership on Professor Freud, whom he had met earlier at psychoanalytic gatherings, and whom he attended after his move to England. He was consulted about Freud's terminal cancer, in 1938. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 1931 and elected President of the Association of Surgeons in 1932. In the last years of his life, he became professor and director of the surgical unit at UCH and turned to writing on a larger scale. In 1938 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
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