Bartholomew Ruspini

Bartholomew Ruspini (c. 1728 – December 1813) was an Italian-born British surgeon-dentist and philanthropist in the 18th century, remembered for founding the Royal Masonic School for Girls.

The son of Andreas Ruspini of Grumello, a minor member of a patrician family originated from Croglio, in the ancient Italian region of Como, now in the Canton Ticino (Switzerland), the chevalier Bartholomew Ruspini was born about 1728, in Zogno, near Bergamo, a place about 40 miles north-east of Milan. He was recognised as a surgeon on 18 June 1758 by the college of physical sciences in Bergamo. It seems possible that he completed his training at an earlier date and, having decided to specialise in dentistry, he then went to Paris, the accepted centre for training in this field. It should be remembered that dentistry was not perceived as a skilled profession, nor had it the status it has now. Dentistry was generally practised as a sideline by blacksmiths, hairdresser and frequently charlatans. Ruspini styled himself as a surgeon dentist to separate himself from the like of these.

Although there is no certainty of his movements it seems possible that Ruspini moved on from his training in Paris to England, taking with him introductions from French and Italian noblemen. It is unclear exactly when he first came to England but an advertisement in the York Courant on 19 May 1752 identifies him as an Italian surgeon offering a remedy for scurvy of the mouth and gums. So confident was he of his technique that he made the first consultation free of charge and no payment was required until the patient had been cured.

Quite when Ruspini came to England is further confused by the reference in the 1752 advertisement in which he claimed to have already cured several people in Manchester. Four years later there is a reference to a marriage to Elizabeth Stiles on 19 February 1757

In November 1759 he was put forward as a candidate for initiation into a Masonic lodge, the Bear lodge, but was rejected. On his second application for membership in 1762 he was accepted into the Burning Bush Lodge in Bristol. In 1766 he was also practising in London under the patronage of the mother of George III. That he was established in society is perhaps confirmed by his second marriage to Elizabeth Orde on 6 April 1767. Ruspini had recently renounced Roman Catholicism and become and Anglican. No mention is made of Ruspini's Italian ancestry in the marriage announcement whereas the Orde family and their connections with nobility and prominent citizens is expanded upon.

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