Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Erasmus Darwin

  • The other Charles Darwin (1758–1778)

    JMS PearceHull, England, United Kingdom “’Precursoritis’ is the bane of historiography.”– Stephen Jay Gould One of the best-known and important discoveries in the practice of medicine was the introduction of digitalis by William Withering (Fig 1). It was the subject of controversy that involved the Darwin family. For almost two hundred years digitalis was the…

  • The illness of Tom Wedgwood: A tragic episode in a family saga

    John Hayman Melbourne, Australia Tom Wedgwood (1771-1805) was born into the famous pottery dynasty as the third surviving son of Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) and his wife Sarah (1734-1815). Sarah was also a Wedgwood, a distant cousin of her husband.1 Tom was ill for all of his short life, a life recorded by his biographer, Richard…

  • Charles Darwin’s illnesses

    There is a prevalent consensus that most of Charles Darwin’s lifelong symptoms are not attributable to organic disease.1-5 It would seem unlikely that he contracted chronic Chagas disease in South America, because his symptoms began before he ever set foot on the HMS Beagle.2 His various complaints were intermittent, many improved with age, and he…

  • The forgotten Darwin

    JMS PearceHull, United Kingdom That Erasmus Darwin MD., FRS. (1731–1802) was overshadowed, often forgotten, is not surprising when one considers the well-deserved fame and importance of Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Stephen Jay Gould observed in The Structure of Evolutionary Theory (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. 2002):  “‘precursoritis’ is the bane of historiography.” Though no “bane of historiography,” Erasmus…

  • Polymathy in decline?

    J.M.S. PearceUnited Kingdom Try to know something about everything and everything about something.— Attributed to TH Huxley (1825–95) Polymaths are rare and interesting people. Their fund of learning enlightens conversation, provokes new ideas, and excites our imagination and understanding. The ancient Greeks concentrated on natural philosophy, (which roughly transmutes into “science”) the study of natural…

  • William Withering and the foxglove

    In 1785 William Withering, physician and botanist in Birmingham, England, wrote a book describing how for ten years he had used an extract of foxglove to treat patients afflicted with swollen legs and abdomen. He said he had often been urged to write on this subject and had been rather diffident about it, feeling unqualified…