George Macaulay: A short biography and his place in the history of congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Abstract George Macaulay (1716–1766) was a Scot admired for his work as an obstetric physician, philanthropist, author, and feminist, but whom history has largely forgotten. In a time rampant with misogyny, Macaulay empathized with women, discouraged sexism within institutions, and contributed to the training of midwives. He spent much of his career working at the British Lying-in Hospital in London. Perhaps most importantly, he worked tirelessly for this hospital, contributed to various medical innovations, and reported several medical cases throughout his career, including that of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, almost a century before the anatomist whose eponymous name it bears. The purpose of this article is to reappraise the life, achievements, and specifically, the role of George Macaulay in our understanding of CDH.