Richard Asher was born to the Reverend Felix Asher and his wife Louise. He married Margaret Augusta Eliot at St Pancras' Church, London on 27 July 1943, whereupon his father-in-law gave him a complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary, which doctor and medical ethicist Maurice Pappworth alleged was the source of Asher's "accidental" reputation as a medical etymologist. They had three children: Peter Asher, a member of the pop duoPeter & Gordon and later record producer, Jane Asher, a film and TV actress and novelist, and Clare Asher, a radio actress. The Asher family home above his private consulting rooms at 57 Wimpole Street was briefly notable when Paul McCartney lived there in 1964–66 during his relationship with Jane Asher. In 1964 Asher suddenly gave up his hospital post and perhaps all medical activities. He suffered from depression in later life and reportedly died by his own hand at the age of 57.
Ideas and reputation
Asher was regarded as "one of the foremost medical thinkers of our times", who emphasised the need "to be increasingly critical of our own and other people's thinking". Asher was particularly concerned that "many clinical notions are accepted because they are comforting rather than because there is any evidence to support them". Asher was hailed as a pioneer in challenging the value of excessive bed rest following treatment, and argued that the Pel–Ebstein fever was an example of a condition that exists only because it has a name. Asher's 1949 paper "Myxoedematous Madness" alerted a generation of physicians to the interaction between the brain and the thyroid gland. As a result, young and elderly psychiatric patients are now screened for thyroid malfunction. Some of the 'madness' cases are now thought to be the early descriptions of Hashimoto's encephalopathy, a rare neuroendocrine syndrome sometimes presenting with psychosis.
Notable articles
Asher is remembered today mostly for his "refreshingly provoking" articles which "sparkle with sequins--his own aphorisms, imaginary dialogue, fantasies, quotations." He thought that medical writing should provide "useful, understandable, and practical knowledge instead of allotov-words-2-obscure-4-any-1,2-succidin-understanding-them." Anthologies of his articles were well-received, with the Talking Sense collection being described as "still the best advice on medical writing." Notable articles include:
- "one of the most influential medical papers ever written"
The "Seven Sins of Medicine" is a lecture delivered by Asher and later published in The Lancet, describing medical professional behaviour that is considered inappropriate. These sins are often quoted to students:
