Denny Hunter mentions he trained under a cousin, Dr. John Hunter. This name should sound familiar, even outside of the world of Outlander.
If you thought the name Dr. John Hunter rang some bells when watching Outlander season 7, episode 15, then there’s a reason for that. And it’s got nothing to do with the books. The man was a real surgeon in the 1700s.
Denny Hunter shares that he learned his trade under Dr. John Hunter, a cousin of his, in London. This is plausible, as John Hunter was a renowned surgeon back in the day, after learning under his own brother in 1749. Let’s take a look at the real Dr. John Hunter.
Dr. John Hunter was a surgeon and expert
John Hunter was the youngest of 10 siblings, although three of those siblings died before he was born. One of his elder brothers, William, was an anatomist and went to London to teach the subject. John visited his brother and fell in love with the subject, quickly becoming William’s assistant in dissections.
While John would become skilled at surgery, it wasn’t under the most positive of methods. This was a time when dead bodies would be stolen and operated on without the family’s consent. John was even potentially involved with the deaths of women in pregnancy as a way to perform studies on them. The things we know today have come via some nefarious methods.
John was never blamed for the deaths of women. It is possible that the deaths were unavoidable, such as due to a condition known as pre-eclampsia, which is treatable today but wasn’t at the time.
John would later get commissioned into the Army, where he worked as a surgeon in 1760. After three years, he left to work with a dentist in London, and he ended up becoming an expert in dental surgery and transplants, something relatively unheard of at the time.
He was so well known that he would move up the ranks as a surgeon. He became King George III’s appointed surgeon in 1776, which arguably catches us up to where Denny and Rachel are in Outlander as the Battle of Monmouth took place in 1778.
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Learning under Dr. John Hunter in Outlander
It is plausible for Denny to have learned under Dr. John Hunter. In fact, learning under this surgeon helps us to understand how Denny is so accepting of Claire’s surgical ways. He has already learned under a man who is ahead of his time. The idea that Claire could also perform surgeries that others couldn’t isn’t too out of the ordinary.
This isn’t something that comes up too much, though. We don’t need to worry at which point in time Denny was in London to learn from his cousin. After all, there is a three-year period where it wouldn’t make sense in the 1760s.
It’s just fun to know that Diana Gabaldon added more real history into Outlander. Dr. John Hunter is a fascinating man.
Outlander returns with new episodes on Friday, Jan. 17 on STARZ.