Born at Aylsham, Norfolk, and educated at Grey Friars Priory School, Norwich. He was apprenticed to Mr Gibson, a surgeon of high standing in the city, and became a Dresser at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in 1842. He served for two years, but was absent for four months of this period on account of pulmonary tuberculosis. He entered University College Hospital in 1844, where he filled the posts of Physician's Assistant and House Surgeon to Thomas Morton (qv) and to James Syme (qv) in January, 1848. He was appointed Resident Medical Officer at University College in August, 1848, and Syme thought so highly of his work as to offer him a similar position at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Clover declined the invitation, and he passed through the cholera epidemic of 1849 in London, which severely taxed the resources of the hospital, without visible impairment of health. He had perhaps been present in the operating theatre of the University College Hospital on that memorable Dec 21st, 1846, when Robert Liston, with the assistance of William Cadge (qv), of Norwich, amputated the thigh of a patient who was rendered insensible with open ether given by Peter Squire - the first time an anaesthetic was given in England for a major operation. Clover's attention was attracted by this exhibition, and the rest of his life was devoted to the administration of anaesthetics. He had settled in practice at 3 Cavendish Place in 1853 and remained there until his death on September 27th, 1882. Clover took a notable part in rendering safe the administration of an anaesthetic. His inventive faculty was of a high order, and after many trials and much experimenting he constructed an 'inhaler' consisting of a metal receiver, surrounded by a waterjacket, for ether, the receiver being traversed by a tubulure to which a rubber bag was attached. Nitrous oxide could be made to enter the bag and the proportion of gas and ether could be regulated at will. He elaborated the face-piece, with great care and made it fit accurately by the use of air cushions. He also made an exhausting bottle and catheter for the removal of calculus débris from the bladder after lithotrity. The idea of employing suction for this purpose belongs to Sir Philip Crampton (1777-1858), but to Clover is due the credit of perfecting the apparatus by which to accomplish it, whilst to H J Bigelow (1818-1890) belongs the thought of using it, and thus reducing the number of sittings required, to remove the whole of a crushed stone. The original instruments which were used by Sir Henry Thompson (qv) are preserved in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons (G 226-229), to which they were presented by George Buckston Brown, FRCS. He also invented the instrument now known as 'Clover's crutch' for maintaining a patient in the lithotomy position. At the time of his death Clover was Lecturer on Anaesthetics at University College Hospital and Administrator of Anaesthetics at the Dental Hospital. He married Mary Anne, a daughter of the Rev T G Hall, Prebendary of St Paul's, who survived him with four children; she died June 9th, 1929. Publications: Clover made various contributions to the medical journals on the administration of ether, nitrous oxide, and chloroform. Notices of his inhalers are to be found in the *Lancet* for 1802 and in the *Brit. Med. Jour.* for 1868 and 1876. There is an excellent article on Anaesthetics by him and G H Bailey in Quain's *Dictionary of Medicine*, pp41-5. It appeared after his death in 1882.