Neurol. praxi. 2025;26(5):436-442

A Colonial Briton from Denmark Hill: Charles David Marsden (1938-1998)

prof. MUDr. Petr Kaňovský, CSc., FEAN

Neurologická klinika a Centrum klinických neurověd Lékařské fakulty Univerzity Palackého v Olomouci a Fakultní nemocnice Olomouc

Charles David Marsden (1938-1998) was a British neurologist, one of the founders of the subspeciality of movement disorders for which the Czech language prefers to use the term "extrapyramidal diseases". He graduated from St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London and began his career at Queen Square Neurological Hospital. However, he soon changed jobs and became a doctor at another NHS trust, Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospital and King's College Hospital, which were nicknamed "Denmark Hill" due to their location in London. Here, he established a centre that became the benchmark in the field of European neuroscience research for a long time; Marsden laboratories at Windsor Walk were deeply involved in experimental and clinical neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and neuropathology. In the late 1980s, the highly successful Marsden is offered the position of head of The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, affiliated with University College of London (UCL), and Marsden returns to where his career began. At both Denmark Hill and Queen Square, Marsden created an inspiring environment where residents and fellows from all over the world kept coming to study neurology and neuroscience. In 1995, he was appointed dean of the UCL Institute of Neurology. After completing his three-year term, he took a one-year sabbatical, which he planned to spend at the NINDS in Bethesda. After having spent four weeks there, he died unexpectedly from coronary disease on 29 September 1998.

Keywords: Charles David Marsden, dystonia, motor control.

Published: November 6, 2025  Show citation