Abraham Colles (23 July 1773 – 16 November 1843) was Professor of Anatomy, Surgery and Physiology at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the President of RCSI in 1802 and 1830. A prestigious Colles Medal & Travelling Fellowship in Surgery is awarded competitively annually to an Irish surgical trainee embarking on higher specialist training abroad before returning to establish practice in Ireland. Life Descended from a Worcestershire family, some of whom had sat in Parliament, he was born to William Colles and Mary Anne Bates of Woodbroak, Co. Wexford. The family lived near Millmount, a townland near Kilkenny, Ireland, where his father owned and managed his inheritance which was the extensive Black Quarry that produced the famous Black Kilkenny Marble. His father died when Colles was 6, but his mother took over the management of the quarry and managed to give her children a good education. While at Kilkenny College, a flood destroyed a local physician's house. Abraham found an anatomy book belonging to the doctor in a field and returned it to him. Sensing the young man's interest in medicine, the physician let Abraham keep the book. He went on to enrol in Trinity College Dublin, in 1790 and was indentured to Philip Woodroffe, studying at Dr Steevens' Hospital, The Foundlings' Hospital and the House of Industry Hospitals. He received the Licentiate Diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1795. Colles went on to study medicine at Edinburgh Medical School, receiving his MD degree in 1797. Afterwards, he lived in London for a short period, working with the famous surgeon Sir Astley Cooper in his dissections of the inguinal region. Following his return to Dublin, in 1799, he was elected to the staff at Dr Steevens' Hospital where he served for the next 42 years. In October 1803, Colles was appointed Surgeon to Cork-street Fever Hospital, and subsequently became Consulting Surgeon to the Rotunda, City of Dublin, and Victoria Lying-in Hospitals. He was a well-regarded surgeon and was elected as president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1802 at the age of 28 years, subsequently also serving as president in 1830. In 1804, he was appointed Professor of Anatomy, Physiology, and Surgery at RCSI. In 1811, he wrote an important treatise on surgical anatomy and some terms he introduced have survived in surgical nomenclature until today. He is remembered as a