He was born in Southbourne, Christchurch in Hampshire. He studied medicine at St Mary's Hospital, London. He was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Mental Science from 1893.
He wrote 148 publications, including:
- The Insane in private dwellings (1893)
- Handbook for attendants on the insane (1904)
- The Border-land of Insanity (1910)
- The Effects of Cannabis indica (1897)
- Psychopathia sexualis (1889)
- The Psychology of crime : a forensic study (1904)
- The Moral Treatment of the Insane (1901)
- The Brain in Alcoholism (1889)