Portsmouth is located in the country of Hampshire, England and lies on Portsea Island
-- a narrow Peninsula that separates two inlets of the English Channel. Portsmouth
is known as a major naval base. It was founded in about 1180 by a merchant named Jean de Gisors, and its dockyard dates back to 1496.1
In 1849, Portsmouth gained its first modern hospital -- the Royal Portsmouth Hospital. And,
Sir John Richardson was assigned as senior physician to the Royal Navy Hospital at Haslar, which was near
Portsmouth.2 By the 1860s, four masonry forts were built along the Spithead to defend the naval base and the
port. In 1871 Portsmouth saw massive growth in its population as it reached 100,000, a large feat
for a tiny seaside town on the South West corner of Portsea Island.3