Sir Charles Locock and potassium bromide

On 12 May 1857, Edward Sieveking read a paper on epilepsy to the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society in London. During the discussion that followed Sir Charles Locock, obstetrician to Queen Victoria, was reported to have commented that during the past 14 months he had used potassium bromide to successfully stop epileptic seizures in all but one of 14 or 15 women with ‘hysterical’ or catamenial epilepsy. This report of Locock’s comment has generally given him credit for introducing the first reasonably effective antiepileptic drug into medical practice.