Ralph Bathurst
Encyclopedia
Ralph Bathurst was an English
theologian and physician
.
in 1620 and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
He graduated with a B.A.
degree from Trinity College, Oxford
in 1638, where he had a family connection with the President, Ralph Kettell
(1563–1643).
, and was ordained in 1644, but his prospects were disrupted by the English Civil War
, and he turned to medicine
. He collaborated with Thomas Willis
, and worked on rewriting Willis's major publication Cerebri Anatomi.
Bathurst was active in the intellectual ferment of the time, and very well connected. In the account given by John Wallis of the precursor groups to the Royal Society of London, Bathurst is mentioned as one of the Oxford
experimentalists who gathered from 1648–9. Also in that group were Willis, William Petty
and Seth Ward
. The group expanded in the 1650s when it gathered around John Wilkins
of Wadham College, close however to Oliver Cromwell
, and then included also Jonathan Goddard
, Thomas Millington, Laurence Rooke, and Christopher Wren
. Later Robert Boyle
joined.
Bathurst belonged also to the overlapping circle of physicians following the tradition of William Harvey
, and which included again Willis, George Ent
, Walter Charleton
, Nathaniel Highmore, and Charles Scarburgh; these were royalists
who had attended Charles I of England
. In the celebrated case of Ann Green, who survived a hanging, the physicians intending to dissect the cadaver were Bathurst, Petty, Willis, and Henry Clerke
.
He worked in practical medicine under the physician Daniel Whistler
(1619–1684). This was during the First Anglo-Dutch War
of 1652 to 1654, when Whistler was in charge of wounded naval personnel. He theorised fruitfully in 1654 on respiration
, in a dissertation for his higher medical degree, and his ideas were later taken up, by Boyle and John Mayow
.
in 1660 he reverted to a career in the church. There is a story that he had acted as archdeacon and deputy to Robert Skinner
, Bishop of Oxford
, who was imprisoned by the Parliamentarians. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663, and was made President of Trinity College in 1664, where he initiated building work to designs by Christopher Wren
, a personal friend. He also swayed Samuel Parker from Presbyterian views to an Anglican outlook.
In 1670, he was Dean
of Wells Cathedral
. For three years from 1673, he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, earning a complimentary reference in a John Dryden
poem. John Harris
, a Trinity College student in the 1680s, wrote about the intellectual and scientific atmosphere of the college under Bathurst.
A biography was written by Thomas Warton
.
, with six of Ralph Bathurst's brothers being killed.
Theodore Bathurst
(died 1651), known as a neo-Latin poet, was a nephew. Another nephew was Ralph Bohun (1639–1716), a poet and experimentalist.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
theologian and physician
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...
.
Early life
He was born in Hothorpe, NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
in 1620 and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
He graduated with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
in 1638, where he had a family connection with the President, Ralph Kettell
Ralph Kettell
Ralph Kettell was an English college head, the third President of Trinity College, Oxford. In a long tenure he built up the college both in terms of architecture and its academic reputation.-Life:...
(1563–1643).
Oxford science and medicine
He originally intended a career in the Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, and was ordained in 1644, but his prospects were disrupted by the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and he turned to medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. He collaborated with Thomas Willis
Thomas Willis
Thomas Willis was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry. He was a founding member of the Royal Society.-Life:...
, and worked on rewriting Willis's major publication Cerebri Anatomi.
Bathurst was active in the intellectual ferment of the time, and very well connected. In the account given by John Wallis of the precursor groups to the Royal Society of London, Bathurst is mentioned as one of the Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
experimentalists who gathered from 1648–9. Also in that group were Willis, William Petty
William Petty
Sir William Petty FRS was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers...
and Seth Ward
Seth Ward (bishop)
Seth Ward was an English mathematician, astronomer, and bishop.-Early life:He was born in Hertfordshire, and educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1636 and M.A. in 1640, becoming a Fellow in that year...
. The group expanded in the 1650s when it gathered around John Wilkins
John Wilkins
John Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....
of Wadham College, close however to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, and then included also Jonathan Goddard
Jonathan Goddard
Jonathan Goddard was an English physician, known both as army surgeon to the forces of Oliver Cromwell, and as an active member of the Royal Society.-Life:...
, Thomas Millington, Laurence Rooke, and Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
. Later Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
joined.
Bathurst belonged also to the overlapping circle of physicians following the tradition of William Harvey
William 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 which included again Willis, George Ent
George Ent
George Ent was an English scientist in the seventeenth century who focused on the study of anatomy. He was a member of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians...
, Walter Charleton
Walter Charleton
Walter Charleton was an English writer. According to Jon Parkin, he was "the main conduit for the transmission of Epicurean ideas to England".-Life:...
, Nathaniel Highmore, and Charles Scarburgh; these were royalists
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
who had attended Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. In the celebrated case of Ann Green, who survived a hanging, the physicians intending to dissect the cadaver were Bathurst, Petty, Willis, and Henry Clerke
Henry Clerke
Henry Clerke was an English academic and physician, President of Magdalen College, Oxford from 1672.-Life:He was son of Thomas Clerke of Willoughby, Warwickshire, England, and matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 20 April 1635, at the age of 16. He obtained a demyship at Magdalen College, and...
.
He worked in practical medicine under the physician Daniel Whistler
Daniel Whistler
-Life:The son of William Whistler of Elvington, Oxfordshire, he was born at Walthamstow in Essex in 1619. He was educated at the school of Thame, Oxfordshire, and entered Merton College, Oxford, in January 1639. He graduated B.A. in 1642. On 8 August 1642 he began the study of physic at the...
(1619–1684). This was during the First Anglo-Dutch War
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo–Dutch War was the first of the four Anglo–Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but...
of 1652 to 1654, when Whistler was in charge of wounded naval personnel. He theorised fruitfully in 1654 on respiration
Respiration (physiology)
'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
, in a dissertation for his higher medical degree, and his ideas were later taken up, by Boyle and John Mayow
John Mayow
John Mayow FRS was a chemist, physician, and physiologist who is remembered today for conducting early research into respiration and the nature of air...
.
Later life
On the English RestorationEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660 he reverted to a career in the church. There is a story that he had acted as archdeacon and deputy to Robert Skinner
Robert Skinner
-Life:He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford in 1613, and graduated M.A. in 1614.His father Edmund Skinner was rector of Pitsford, and Robert succeeded him in 1628. He was vicar of Launton from 1632....
, Bishop of Oxford
Bishop of Oxford
The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford...
, who was imprisoned by the Parliamentarians. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663, and was made President of Trinity College in 1664, where he initiated building work to designs by Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, a personal friend. He also swayed Samuel Parker from Presbyterian views to an Anglican outlook.
In 1670, he was Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
. For three years from 1673, he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, earning a complimentary reference in a John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
poem. John Harris
John Harris (writer)
John Harris was an English writer, scientist, and Anglican priest. He is best known as the editor of the Lexicon Technicum: Or, A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences , the earliest of English encyclopaedias, and as the compiler of the Collection of Voyages and Travels which was...
, a Trinity College student in the 1680s, wrote about the intellectual and scientific atmosphere of the college under Bathurst.
A biography was written by Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton
Thomas Warton was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. From 1785 to 1790 he was the Poet Laureate of England...
.
Family
He was one of thirteen sons of George Bathurst. This large royalist family suffered greatly in the Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, with six of Ralph Bathurst's brothers being killed.
Theodore Bathurst
Theodore Bathurst
Theodore Bathurst , was an English Latin-language poet.Bathurst was descended from an ancient family of Hothorpe in Northamptonshire, and a relative of Dr. Ralph Bathurst, the famous English physician, scholar, and divine...
(died 1651), known as a neo-Latin poet, was a nephew. Another nephew was Ralph Bohun (1639–1716), a poet and experimentalist.