Born at Hull, the son of Henry Farbstein, MRCS, of that town, and of Mrs Farbstein, a daughter of Mr Berkowitz of Gravesend. He was educated at University College and Hospital, London, which he entered in 1904, and where he obtained three Gold Medals - the Liston Gold Medals for Surgery and Midwifery and one for Clinical Medicine. Immediately after qualifying he was appointed House Physician and then House Surgeon under Rickman J Godlee (qv) at University College Hospital. He then became Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at University College, being at the same time appointed Clinical Assistant in the Ear and Throat Department. Later, on the termination of the tenure of these offices, he was for a time Clinical Assistant at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. He passed the examination for the Fellowship some months before the age for election, and about eighteen months before his death was appointed Resident Medical Officer to the Hull Workhouse. Keen, energetic, genial, and profoundly interested in his work, he won golden opinions from his colleagues and from the people of Hull, who referred to him familiarly as 'young Dr Farbstein'. He became deeply immersed in the study of phthisis and spent much time in the Consumption Ward of the Workhouse Infirmary. He practised at 224 Anlaby Road. After an illness of only three months' duration he died of phthisis at Hull on March 24th, 1911. Farbstein was a member of the Jewish community, many representatives of which attended his funeral.