Thomas Wakley (1795-1862), was an English surgeon, coroner, political reformer and founding editor of the medical journal, The Lancet. As a member of Parliament, Wakely was particularly concerned with reform of forensic medicine, public health, and other medical issues, and campaigned to reinvent the office of the coroner as an open, democratic, and medically competent institution. Wakley argued that coroners should be qualified medical men and elected advocates of the people - not lawyers and appointees and that an inquest could only produce justice if conducted publicly and scientifically, without favoritism or prejudice.