Robert Liston was a Scottish surgeon known for his speed in performing surgeries. He was very popular in an era prior to the development of anesthetics. The son of renowned clergyman and inventor Henry Liston, he is known for handling many complicated cases, including one in which he performed the amputation of a limb in just 28 seconds. Described as ‘the fastest knife in the West End’ by English surgeon Richard Gordon, Liston studied medicine from the University of Edinburgh under eminent anatomist Dr John Barclay. His works earned him the first spot in Blackwell Magazine’s 'The Great Northern Anatomist'. In 1818, Liston joined the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and soon earned a reputation of an argumentative but unfailingly charitable man. He performed his first operation under modern anesthesia in Europe in 1846. Also an inventor, Liston invented bulldogs forceps, transparent isinglass sticking plaster, and a leg splint, all of which are still used today. The legendary surgeon died of an aneurysm in 1847, at the age of 53.