John Langdon Haydon Down (1828-1896), British physician. Down first trained as a pharmacist at the School of the Pharmaceutical Society, London, and then in 1853 he attended the London Hospital Medical College, where he excelled. In 1858 Down was appointed Medical Superintendent of the Earlswood Asylum for Idiots in Surrey, and reformed the regime and facilities. Whilst at Earlswood he observed and classified the patients, his most famous classification became known as Down syndrome. In 1868 Down set up a home for the learning disableD of the upper classes.