Person
Coates, Albert Ernest (1895 - 1977)
Kt
- Born
- 28 January 1895
Mount Pleasant, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 8 October 1977
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Neurosurgeon
Summary
Sir Albert Coates was one of Australia's earliest neurosurgeons. For over 45 years he was closely associated with the (Royal) Melbourne Hospital. He held several positions in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne, playing a central role in the establishment of the chairs of Medicine and Surgery, and served a 5-year term on the University Council. In 1940 he was a founding Member of the Society of Australasian Neurosurgical Surgeons. Coates in particularly known for his work while a prisoner-of-war in camps in Sumatra, Burma and Thailand, where he tended to the medical needs of his fellow prisoners with virtually no facilities.
Details
Chronology
- 1914 - 1918
- Military service - First World War. Australian Imperial Force as medical orderly and in the intelligence section
- 1918 - 1919
- Career position - Interpreter, Commonwealth Censor's Office
- 1924
- Career position - Resident Medical Officer, Melbourne Hospital
- 1924
- Education - MB BS, University of Melbourne
- 1925
- Career position - Stewart Lecturer in Anatomy, University of Melbourne
- 1926
- Education - MD, University of Melbourne
- 1926 - 1928
- Career position - Acting Professor of Anatomy, University of Melbourne
- 1927
- Education - MS, University of Melbourne
- 1927
- Career position - Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
- 1927 - 1935
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon to outpatients, Melbourne Hospital
- 1934 - 1947
- Career position - Member, Dental Board of Victoria
- 1935 - 1954
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon to Inpatients and Neurosurgeon, Royal Melbourne Hospital
- 1936 - 1940
- Career position - Lecturer (part-time) in surgical anatomy, University of Melbourne
- 1936 - 1948
- Career position - Member of Council, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
- 1940 -
- Career position - Foundation Member, Society of Australasian Neurosurgical Surgeons
- 1941
- Career position - President, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
- 1941 - 1945
- Military service - econd World War. Served with the 2nd Australian Imperial Forces
- 1945 - 1954
- Career position - Honorary Surgeon to inpatients, Royal Melbourne Hospital
- 1945 - 1971
- Career position - Medical Officer to Country Fire Authority
- 1946
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) (OBE)
- 1947
- Career position - President, Victorian Branch, British Medical Association
- 1947 - 1977
- Career position - Member, Board of Management, Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital
- 1949 - 1956
- Career position - Stewart Lecturer in Surgery, University of Melbourne
- 1950
- Career position - Australian delegate, International Red Cross Meeting, Monte Carlo
- 1953
- Award - Elected Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons, London
- 1953 - 1958
- Career position - Member, National Council of Australian Red Cross
- 1953 - 1958
- Career position - Member of Council, University of Melbourne
- 1954 - 1971
- Career position - Consulting Surgeon, Royal Melbourne Hospital
- 1955
- Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)
- 1956 - 1976
- Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital
- 1962
- Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
- 1971
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Coates, Albert and Rosenthal, Newman, The Albert Coates story: the will that found the way (South Yarra, Vic.: Hyland House, 1977), 190 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Webb, Rowan, 'Coates, Sir Albert Ernest (1895-1977), surgeon' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 452-454. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130496b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Russell, K. F.; and Dunlop, Edward, 'Sir Albert Coates', Medical Journal of Australia, 1979 (1) (1979), 276-7. Details
- Webb, Rowan, 'Sir Albert Coates KB, OBE, LLD (Hon), MD MS, FRCS (HON), FRACS, 1895 - 1977', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 58 (1988), 419-22. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4709949. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/35710269. Details
- CA 2001 Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office, 'NAA: B2455, Coates A E', B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=3262796. Details
- CA 2002, 2 Echelon, Army Headquarters; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: B883, VX503645', B883 Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6100195. Details
- 'Coates, Albert Ernest (18950128-19771008)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772587. Details
- 'Awarded honorary LLD, 1962', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
See also
- Curtis, J. Bryant, Miller, Douglas and Simpson, Donald, 'The Neurosurgical Society of Australasia: the first forty years', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery, 50 (4) (1980), 434-7. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 22 August 2023