Francis Kiernan

{{short description|Anatomist and physician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Francis Kiernan FRS (2 October 1800 – 31 December 1874) was an anatomist and physician.

He was born in Ireland, the eldest of four children.British Medical Journal (2 January 1875) pg. 31, [http://www.bmj.com/content/1/731/31.3.full.pdf bmj.com] His father, Francis Kiernan (died 7 March 1850 at 30 Manchester Square, London), was also a physician and brought the family to England in the early 19th century. Francis junior was educated at the Roman Catholic College at Ware, Hertfordshire, and was trained in medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.Nature (Thursday, 7 January 1875) pg. 193

He set up a private anatomy class in Charterhouse Square, but, in the words of the British Medical Journal, his "great success as a teacher caused much jealousy, and, in 1825, gave rise to the Council of the College of Surgeons passing a resolution refusing to receive certificates from any but recognised teachers." Kiernan's class size dwindled as students departed. Appeals to the Council to rescind its decision, on the grounds of Kiernan's ability and skill as a teacher, were dismissed.

He became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1825. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834Cert VIII, 128; A04007; EC/1834/41; GB 117 The Royal Society and was awarded its Copley Medal in 1836 for his work on the anatomy of the liver.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1833; volume 123; pgs. 711-770 That same year, he became a founding Member of the Senate of the University of London, where he acted as examiner and lecturer in anatomy and physiology.

In 1843, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, and served on its Council from 1850. After a single year as Vice-President (1864–5), he declined re-nomination on the grounds of ill-health,The Times, Friday, 14 July 1865; pg. 9; Issue 25237; col. G. having suffered a paralytic stroke in 1865 from which he never fully recovered.

In 1849, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1849&year-max=1849&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-14|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}

He died unmarried at his home in Manchester Street, Manchester Square, London on New Year's Eve, 1874,The Times, Saturday, 2 January 1875; pg. 10; Issue 28202; col. A and was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Mortlake, London.