Category: Physicians of Note
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Thomas Sydenham, “The English Hippocrates”
JMS PearceEast Yorks, UK Still Fever burns, and all her skill defiesTill Sydenham’s wisdom plays a double part,Quells the disease and helps the failing Art.—From a poem on plague by John Locke, 1668 From Hippocrates, “Father Of Medicine,” to William Osler, “Father Of Modern Medicine,” plaudits for doctors abound and venerate their varied virtues. Thomas…
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Charles Richard Box: physician, pathologist, and infectious disease pioneer
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, UK The name Charles Richard Box is perhaps not as well-known as some of the medical contemporaries of his time. He had a brilliant career in medicine at his alma mater but his nature and personality did not result in popularity and fame in society circles. As Alex Munthe, the author of…
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Doctor Schiller
Nicolas Roberto RoblesBadajoz, Spain Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was born on November 10, 1759 in Marbach, Württemberg, Germany. His father, Johann Caspar Schiller, was a regimental surgeon in the service of Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg. Schiller (1759–1805) is best known for his immense influence on German literature. In his relatively short life, he…
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John S. Bristowe: Victorian physician and polymath
Arpan K. Banerjee Solihull, UK John Syer Bristowe was a Victorian physician and polymath who served his alma mater, St. Thomas’ Hospital, with great distinction. He was born into a medical family on 19 June 1827 in Camberwell in Southeast London.1 One of his brothers, Thomas Bristowe, became a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1885-1892. In…
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John Francis Hall-Edwards—a radiology pioneer
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, UK John Francis Hall-Edwards was born on 19 December 1858 in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. He was educated at King Edwards School in Birmingham followed by Queen’s College, Birmingham where he studied medicine and was an apprentice to Professor Richard Norris.1,2 He qualified in medicine in 1885. Norris…
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Benjamin Rush—Heritage and hope
C. Frederick KittleChicago, Illinois, United States Excerpted from the The Proceedings of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, Vol. 34, 1981. Based on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Alumni Association of Rush Medical College, September 13, 1976. Reprinted from Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s “Magazine,” Winter 1976–77. In his biographies it is stated simply:…
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Richard Mead
Arpan K BanerjeeSolihull, UK Richard Mead was born on 11 August 1673, the eleventh child of Matthew Mead, a preacher and somewhat controversial character of his time.1 Matthew Mead was a scholar and Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, although he resigned from the latter post before being expelled by the authorities for the ill will…
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Dr. Samuel Sarphati
Annabelle SlingerlandLeiden, the Netherlands Times of confusion and uncertainty can also be fruitful grounds for seeds to root, rise, and bloom. One such seed was Dr. Samuel Sarphati, who created New Amsterdam on the banks of the river Amstel. Amsterdam in the early nineteenth century was already renowned for its prosperous canal belts, streets lit…
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Paul Bussière, Huguenot physician in London (c.1660-1739)
In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes that had allowed Huguenots to practice their religion unmolested. It caused many talented professionals to flee the country. Among them was Paul Bussière (or Buissière), a Huguenot medical practitioner who first went to Copenhagen and then to London, where he developed a successful practice. Remembered for…