Thomas Fresh (1803-1861), Inspector Of Nuisances, Liverpool'S First Public Health Officer

Thomas Fresh was Liverpool's first public health officer, having been appointed Inspector of Nuisances by the Health of Towns Committee on 4 September 1844, more than two years before the celebrated appointment of Duncan as Britain's first Medical Officer of Health and Newlands as the first Borough Engineer. Even before that, Fresh was the officer responsible for environmental health interventions. He is often cited as the first environmental health practitioner. Although he gained a national reputation for his work, Fresh was undervalued at the time and his life and work have been underreported since. He had an eventful personal life. He was married three times and widowed twice. In his youth he spent four months on remand before being acquitted. He was a talented entrepreneur: he created a building society, a model farm and a residential settlement that today bears his name. However, he took on financial commitments that were beyond his means, resulting in his sudden and premature departure from public life.