Frank Nicholls
Encyclopedia
Frank Nicholls was a physician
. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. He was made reader of anatomy at Oxford University when young and moved to London
in the 1730s.
, a barrister, he was born in London. He was educated at Westminster School
, and went to Exeter College, Oxford
, where he entered 4 March 1714, his tutor being John Haviland. Besides the classics, he studied physics; he graduated B.A. 14 November 1718, M.A. 12 June 1721, M.B. 16 February 1724, M.D. 16 March 1729.
He lectured at Oxford on anatomy, as a reader in the university, before he graduated in medicine. His lectures were well attended, and were mostly devoted to minute anatomy, then seldom taught. He demonstrated the minute structure of blood vessel
s, showed before the Royal Society experiments proving that the inner and middle coat of an artery
could be ruptured while the outer remained entire, and thus made clear the method of formation of chronic aneurysm, which had not before been understood. He noticed that the arteries were supplied with nerves, and pointed out that these probably regulated blood pressure
. He was the first to make corroded preparations, in which a particular part of an organ is left prominent after an injection, the surrounding structures being removed piecemeal.
After a short period of practice as a physician in Cornwall, he settled in London. He was elected F.R.S. 1728, and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
1732. He attended some of Winslow's lectures in France, and saw Giovanni Battista Morgagni
and Santorinus
in Italy; and on his return began to give anatomical lectures in London. In 1734 he gave the Gulstonian lectures at the College of Physicians, ‘On the Structure of the Heart and the Circulation of the Blood;’ and again in 1736 ‘On the Urinary Organs, with the Causes, Symptoms, and Cure of Stone.’ He delivered the Harveian oration
in 1739, and the Lumleian lectures
1748–9, of which the inaugural lecture, ‘De Anima Medica,’ was given 16 December 1748, and was published in 1750 (2nd edit. 1771; 3rd edit. 1773).
The College elected in 1749 a junior into the body of the elects, or council, over his head, whereupon he resigned his Lumleian lectureship. In 1753 he was appointed physician to George II. He examined the body of the king after death, and discovered a rupture of the right ventricle, which he described in a letter to George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
, President of the Royal Society, and this is printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1760.
To aid in his son John's education he went to Oxford in 1762, and, when his son had graduated, to Epsom
, where he lived till his death, 7 January 1778. His health was never very good, and he had attacks of fever at intervals throughout life, sometimes accompanied by the formation of abscesses. Of this disorder, probably tuberculosis
, he died.
and Christopher Terne
; those of Nicholls may have been suggested by the printed anatomical tables of Sir Charles Scarburgh.
An anonymous pamphlet, ‘The Petition of the Unborn Babes to the Censors of the Royal College of Physicians of London,’ published in 1751, is attributed to him. It is against lying-in hospitals; it shows that there were differences between him and some of the senior fellows of the College. Pocus in the work represented, it is said, Dr. Robert Nesbit; Maulus, Dr. Maule; and Barebone, Dr. William Barrowby
. It was answered by ‘A Vindication of Man Midwifery,’ 1752.
, and had five children. There survived of these one daughter; and one son John, a barrister-at-law of Lincoln's Inn
, who was M.P. for Bletchingley
1783–1787, and for Tregony
1798–1802, and died in 1832.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. He was made reader of anatomy at Oxford University when young and moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the 1730s.
Life
The second son of John Nicholls (d. 1714) of Trereife, CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, a barrister, he was born in London. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, and went to Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, where he entered 4 March 1714, his tutor being John Haviland. Besides the classics, he studied physics; he graduated B.A. 14 November 1718, M.A. 12 June 1721, M.B. 16 February 1724, M.D. 16 March 1729.
He lectured at Oxford on anatomy, as a reader in the university, before he graduated in medicine. His lectures were well attended, and were mostly devoted to minute anatomy, then seldom taught. He demonstrated the minute structure of blood vessel
Blood vessel
The blood vessels are the part of the circulatory system that transports blood throughout the body. There are three major types of blood vessels: the arteries, which carry the blood away from the heart; the capillaries, which enable the actual exchange of water and chemicals between the blood and...
s, showed before the Royal Society experiments proving that the inner and middle coat of an artery
Artery
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....
could be ruptured while the outer remained entire, and thus made clear the method of formation of chronic aneurysm, which had not before been understood. He noticed that the arteries were supplied with nerves, and pointed out that these probably regulated blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
. He was the first to make corroded preparations, in which a particular part of an organ is left prominent after an injection, the surrounding structures being removed piecemeal.
After a short period of practice as a physician in Cornwall, he settled in London. He was elected F.R.S. 1728, and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
1732. He attended some of Winslow's lectures in France, and saw Giovanni Battista Morgagni
Giovanni Battista Morgagni
Giovanni Battista Morgagni was an Italian anatomist, celebrated as the father of modern anatomical pathology.-Education:...
and Santorinus
Giovanni Domenico Santorini
Giovanni Domenico Santorini was an Italian anatomist. He was a native of Venice, and earned his medical doctorate from Pisa in 1701. He is remembered for his anatomical dissections of the human body....
in Italy; and on his return began to give anatomical lectures in London. In 1734 he gave the Gulstonian lectures at the College of Physicians, ‘On the Structure of the Heart and the Circulation of the Blood;’ and again in 1736 ‘On the Urinary Organs, with the Causes, Symptoms, and Cure of Stone.’ He delivered the Harveian oration
Harveian Oration
The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feast on St...
in 1739, and the Lumleian lectures
Lumleian Lectures
The Lumleian Lectures are a series of annual lectures run by the Royal College of Physicians of London, started in 1582 and now run by the Lumleian Trust. The name commemorates John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, who with Richard Caldwell of the College endowed the lectures, initially confined to...
1748–9, of which the inaugural lecture, ‘De Anima Medica,’ was given 16 December 1748, and was published in 1750 (2nd edit. 1771; 3rd edit. 1773).
The College elected in 1749 a junior into the body of the elects, or council, over his head, whereupon he resigned his Lumleian lectureship. In 1753 he was appointed physician to George II. He examined the body of the king after death, and discovered a rupture of the right ventricle, which he described in a letter to George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, FRS was an English peer and astronomer.Styled Viscount Parker from 1721 to 1732, he was Member of Parliament for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his interests were not in politics...
, President of the Royal Society, and this is printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1760.
To aid in his son John's education he went to Oxford in 1762, and, when his son had graduated, to Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, where he lived till his death, 7 January 1778. His health was never very good, and he had attacks of fever at intervals throughout life, sometimes accompanied by the formation of abscesses. Of this disorder, probably tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, he died.
Works
In 1732 he published in Oxford a compendium of his lectures, and in 1738 he had published in London an enlarged edition, ‘Compendium Anatomico-œconomicum,’ a tabular summary of anatomy, physiology, morbid anatomy, pharmacology, and midwifery, in seventy-eight quarto pages, with diagrams. Similar summaries on a smaller scale existed, by William HarveyWilliam Harvey
William Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
and Christopher Terne
Christopher Terne
-Life:He was born in Cambridgeshire, entered the University of Leyden on 22 July 1647, and there graduated M.D. In May 1650 he was incorporated first at Cambridge and then at Oxford. He was examined as a candidate at the College of Physicians on 10 May 1650, and was elected a fellow on 15 November...
; those of Nicholls may have been suggested by the printed anatomical tables of Sir Charles Scarburgh.
An anonymous pamphlet, ‘The Petition of the Unborn Babes to the Censors of the Royal College of Physicians of London,’ published in 1751, is attributed to him. It is against lying-in hospitals; it shows that there were differences between him and some of the senior fellows of the College. Pocus in the work represented, it is said, Dr. Robert Nesbit; Maulus, Dr. Maule; and Barebone, Dr. William Barrowby
William Barrowby
William Barrowby was an English physician.Barrowby was born in London, the son of Dr. William Barrowby, a physician established first in Oxford and afterwards in London. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Oxford. According to the DNB, he then moved to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where...
. It was answered by ‘A Vindication of Man Midwifery,’ 1752.
Family
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Richard MeadRichard Mead
Richard Mead was an English physician. His work, A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it , was of historic importance in the understanding of transmissible diseases.-Life:The eleventh child of Matthew Mead , Independent divine, Richard was born...
, and had five children. There survived of these one daughter; and one son John, a barrister-at-law of Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, who was M.P. for Bletchingley
Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)
Bletchingley was a parliamentary borough in Surrey. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1832, when the constituency was...
1783–1787, and for Tregony
Tregony (UK Parliament constituency)
Tregony was a rotten borough in Cornwall which was represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and returned two Members of Parliament to the English and later British Parliament continuously from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
1798–1802, and died in 1832.