John Conolly
John Conolly, born in May of 1794, set out in his medical career to investigate the insanity of the mind. Conolly struggled to gain traction in the field of mental health as he was at odds with how he believed a lunatic ought to be treated. He set out to create a more humane treatment of the insanity, and teach the physicians the varying degrees of restraint necessary for each patient. Andrew Scull wrote in his article A Brilliant Career? John Conolly and Victorian Pschiatry: "It was precisely the expert's task, not just to distinguish the mad from the sane but 'to point out those circumstances which, even in persons decidedly insane can also justify various degrees of restraint" (209). HE did accomplish a more humane way of treatment for patients. He passed away in March of 1866.
Works Cited:
Scull, Andrew. “A Brilliant Career? John Conolly and Victorian Psychiatry.” Victorian Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, 1984, pp. 203–35. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3827132. Accessed 14 Dec. 2023.