David Lloyd Roberts (1835–1920) was born at Stockport, the son of a cotton spinner, and served in a chemist’s shop before going to school at Ripponden in Yorkshire. He studied at the Manchester School of Medicine and Royal Infirmary and settled in general practice in Manchester, obtaining the post of regular surgeon-in-ordinary at St Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children. He remained connected with this institution for the rest of his life. He was the author of a popular 'Student’s Guide to Practical Midwifery' (1876). More notable achievements were his edition of Sir Thomas Browne’s 'Religio Medici' (1898) and his paper on 'The Scientific Knowledge of Dante' (1914). Lloyd Roberts was, indeed, a man of wide culture, as well as a famous collector of art treasures – mezzotints, watercolours, glass, porcelain, silver, furniture and books.