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Thomas Wakley--founding editor of The Lancet, member of Parliament, coroner and, for 12 years, all three simultaneously--died 150 years ago. His fullest biography is more than a century old, but still provides a good account of the struggles and achievements of this extraordinary yet at times rather difficult and overstretched man. Nonetheless, there are gaps, and this anniversary provides a chance to fill in a few of them., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There have been wide-ranging debates about medicine and the law encapsulated in the figure of the coroner in Victorian England. Recently the historical literature on coroners has been enriched by macro-studies. Despite this important research, the social lives of coroners and their daily interactions remain relatively neglected in standard historical accounts. This article redresses that issue by examining the working life of the coroner for Oxford during the late-Victorian era. Edward Law Hussey kept very detailed records of his time in office as coroner. New research material makes it feasible to trace his professional background, from doctor of the sick poor, to hospital house surgeon and then busy coroner. His career trajectory, personal interactions, and professional disputes, provide an important historical prism illuminating contemporary debates that occupied coroners in their working lives. Hussey tried to improve his medico-legal reach and the public image of his coroner's office by reducing infanticide rates, converting a public mortuary, and acquiring a proper coroner's court. His campaigns had limited success because the social scene in which he worked was complicated by the dominance of health and welfare agencies that resented his role as an expanding arm of the Victorian information state.

Anaesthetists are acutely aware of the legal constraint of reporting to the coroner deaths in association with anaesthesia. The evolution of the office of the coroner in England is presented and the relationship with the discovery and evolution of anaesthesia is examined. The legal and medical climate in the 19th century is described, with some of the key participants named and their roles explained. The 19th century was an age of questioning and exploration, which led to the elucidation of the problems with chloroform and set the path for progress in monitoring in anaesthesia. Comments are made on the development of anaesthetic mortality reporting into its current system and some of the benefits flowing from it. The collaboration of the various state mortality committees in producing a triennial national report is an important way to ensure that the lessons of the past are kept in mind in the present. The author believes that mortality reporting, the analysis of data and the dissemination of information is a valuable field of research, monitoring and educational tool. Primum non nocere is particularly pertinent in anaesthesia.

In 1194, the coroner system was formally established in England with the original interest in death to protect the financial interest of the crown. This coroner system was brought to the United States during the early 1600s where the first recorded autopsy was performed in Massachusetts in 1647. Significant changes were made to improve upon the coroner system. In 1877, the first medical examiner system was established in the state of Massachusetts requiring that the coroner be supplanted by a physician known as a medical examiner. Using the system established in Massachusetts as a model, New York City developed an improved medical examiner system in 1915. The improvements made by New York City, under the leadership of men such as Drs. Charles Norris and Alex Gettler, essentially laid down the foundation for medical examiner systems and forensic toxicology throughout the country. Part II of this series will begin in Maryland. Maryland soon followed in New York City's footsteps and in 1939 developed the first statewide medical examiner system in the U.S. Influenced by systems such as Maryland's and New York City's, Delaware established a medical examiner system in 1955 to work alongside of the pre-existing coroner system. It was not until about a decade later in 1964 that the system became successful under the leadership of Dr. All Z. Hamell. In 1970, after 15 years of uphill battles with supporters of the antiquated coroner system, it was abolished, resulting in a statewide medical examiner system. Today, Delaware's medical examiner system has one of the best medicolegal investigative facilities in the country, complete with its own forensic sciences laboratory under the jurisdiction of a Chief Medical Examiner. Delaware's Office of Chief Medical Examiner will try to continue its tradition to serve as a model for other states and possibly other countries to follow.

Every death is unique, but deaths also share similar features that allow them to be grouped into categories. Since its initial description over 800 years ago, the position of coroner has been charged with the determination of manner of death. This determination has been made by examination into the circumstances surrounding death and of wounds on the surface of the body. Over the years, physicians have gained sufficient understanding of the body such that the autopsy became an important part of a death investigation. With additional time, laws were changed so that individuals charged with the determination of manner of death were required to have appropriate training. Death certification is the means by which deaths are grouped together according to similar characteristics. The practice of death certification has led to effective public health programs and the advancement of medical science. The addition of manner of death to the death certificate is an American contribution to vital statistics registration. The purpose of the autopsy report differs from that of the death certificate; the report fully addresses the unique aspects of a death, while the certificate captures the essence of the circumstances surrounding death in a few words.