charles bell was born in edinburgh in 1774. he enrolled as a medical undergraduate at the university and also attended anatomy classes at the school of anatomy run by his elder brother john bell (1763–1820), whom he greatly admired and from whom he drew inspiration. he became a fellow of the royal college of surgeons of edinburgh, but both he and his brother were snubbed by the scottish surgical establishment – neither was given a post in edinburgh royal infirmary. his elder brother remained in scotland and, in a tempestuous career, became the foremost scottish surgeon of his day. charles left for london, aged 30, in 1804. there he bought the great windmill street anatomy school where he established a reputation as a teacher of anatomy and surgery. he was appointed to the staff of the middlesex hospital and became professor of surgery. in london he amassed a museum of anatomical and pathology specimens which had grown to become one of the largest collections of its time. in 1825 he sold this collection to the royal college of surgeons of edinburgh for £3000 (£2.4 million in 2009). the collection was packed under the supervision of dr robert knox, museum conservator at the edinburgh college, and shipped to leith, the port for edinburgh. it formed the heart of the playfair museum collection when the playfair building opened in 1832, and much of it remains on display to this day.