As of September 2016, there were 440,000 barbers operating in 41,340 barbershops in America.

1. COLLECTIV Academy
7353 S 900 E, Midvale, Utah 84047
(801) 561-5610
History of the Barber-
Surgeons

2. As of September 2016, there were 440,000 barbers operating in 41,340 barbershops in
America.
Barber-surgeons – the title may sound strange today, but these people did not stop at
cutting hair and shaving beards. People went to them to get operations done for various
ailments.
These individuals did everything – from amputating limbs to pulling teeth – and people
trusted them with their health for a long time.
The Rise of Barber-Surgeons
In London, there used to be a guild where barbers and surgeons mingled – the Company
of Barber-Surgeons. These were the general practitioners back in the 16th to
18thcentury in London, according to Margaret Pelling, an Oxford University medical
historian.

3. She added, “They did virtually everything: from looking after fairly cosmetic aspects of
the body to what we would now regard as major operations like amputations, reducing
dislocations, dealing with ulcers on the surface of the body.”
They specialized in treating venereal diseases, such as syphilis (grande verole, “great
pox”), which broke out among Charles VIII of France’s soldiers during their invasion of
Naples. Barber-surgeons handled most of the earlier cases because doctors themselves
did not want to handle occurrences of this condition.
These were the days when physicians only examined and diagnosed the patients while
barber-surgeons went up close and personal with them.
Ambroise Paré
Famous in the 16th century, Ambroise Paré went from shaving beards to developing
early types of prosthesis with a little help from the town’s locksmith. He served as a
royal surgeon to Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III.

4. Sources:
http://collectivacademy.com/
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bodysphere/when-barbers-were-
surgeons-and-surgeons-were-barbers/6391468
http://jmvh.org/article/syphilis-its-early-history-and-treatment-until-penicillin-and-the-
debate-on-its-origins/
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2513728
http://www.healio.com/orthotics-prosthetics/prosthetics/news/print/o-and-p-
news/%7B55368231-fb8d-4614-9177-b4824f0750cb%7D/sixteenth-century-french-
barber-surgeon-a-man-of-many-talents
His most celebrated innovation was a mechanical hand he made for a French soldier in
1551. As an accomplished anatomist, he was most proud of it when it successfully
gripped and released the reins of a horse.
While no one pays that much attention to the barber’s pole, one legend says that these
stripes represent blood and bandages. It is exciting to know that these had happened in
ancient times, but for now, it is better that barbers only focus on taking care of their
customer’s hair and not operating on anyone.