Robert James (physician)
Encyclopedia
Robert James was an English
physician
who is best known as the author of A Medicinal Dictionary, as the inventor of a popular "fever powder", and as a friend of Samuel Johnson
.
, to Edward James, a major in the English army, and his wife Frances, a sister of Sir Robert Clarke
. His early education was at Lichfield Grammar School
, where he became acquainted with his fellow student Samuel Johnson. He then attended St. John's College, Oxford, from which he received the degree of A.B. on 5 July 1726. He was admitted as an extra-licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians
on 12 January 1727/8, and in May of the same year was created doctor of medicine at Cambridge
by royal mandate. He practiced at Sheffield
, Lichfield, and Birmingham
before moving to London
, where he was admitted as a licentiate of the Royal College on 25 June 1765. He died on 23 March 1776, aged seventy-three.
James's most notable publication was his three-volume Medicinal Dictionary (1743–1745), for which his friend Samuel Johnson wrote the "proposals", as well as several of the dictionary's articles (mainly at the beginning of the alphabet), including those for actuarius
and Aretaeus. This work was immediately translated into French (as Dictionnaire universel de médecine, 1746–1748) by the team of Denis Diderot
, François-Vincent Toussaint
, and Marc-Antoine Eidous
; and it retained its popularity for so long that Mark Twain
felt justified in writing a scathing critique of it nearly 150 years later, in 1890.
His fever powder, which he patented in 1747, was one of the most successful of 18th-century patent medicines,
though he is said to have "tarnished his image by patenting his powders, and falsifying their specification". (It was considered unbecomingly mercenary to patent a medicine, and his falsification of the ingredients in the patent documentation would have been designed to prevent others from replicating his formulation.) The use of this preparation, a compound of antimony
and phosphate of lime, has been cited as a contributing factor in the death of Oliver Goldsmith
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
who is best known as the author of A Medicinal Dictionary, as the inventor of a popular "fever powder", and as a friend of Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
.
Life
James was born in 1703, at Kinvaston in StaffordshireStaffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, to Edward James, a major in the English army, and his wife Frances, a sister of Sir Robert Clarke
Sir Robert Clarke, 2nd Baronet
Sir Robert Clarke, 2nd Baronet was a British politician and lawyer.He was the older son of Sir Samuel Clarke, 1st Baronet and his wife Mary Thompson, daughter of Robert Thompson. In 1719, he succeeded his father as baronet. He was called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1701...
. His early education was at Lichfield Grammar School
King Edward VI School (Lichfield)
King Edward VI School, Lichfield is a co-educational comprehensive school near the heart of the city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. The school is a co-educational comprehensive school maintained by Staffordshire Education Authority and admits pupils from the age of 11 , with some 60%...
, where he became acquainted with his fellow student Samuel Johnson. He then attended St. John's College, Oxford, from which he received the degree of A.B. on 5 July 1726. He was admitted as an extra-licentiate 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...
on 12 January 1727/8, and in May of the same year was created doctor of medicine at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
by royal mandate. He practiced at Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Lichfield, and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
before moving 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...
, where he was admitted as a licentiate of the Royal College on 25 June 1765. He died on 23 March 1776, aged seventy-three.
James's most notable publication was his three-volume Medicinal Dictionary (1743–1745), for which his friend Samuel Johnson wrote the "proposals", as well as several of the dictionary's articles (mainly at the beginning of the alphabet), including those for actuarius
Actuarius
Actuarius or actarius, rendered in Greek as aktouarios , was the title applied to officials of varying functions in the late Roman and Byzantine empires....
and Aretaeus. This work was immediately translated into French (as Dictionnaire universel de médecine, 1746–1748) by the team of Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
, François-Vincent Toussaint
François-Vincent Toussaint
François-Vincent Toussaint was a French writer most famous for Les Mœurs . The book was published in 1748 and was soon prosecuted and burned by the French court of justice....
, and Marc-Antoine Eidous
Marc-Antoine Eidous
Marc-Antoine Eidous was a French writer, translator and Encyclopedist born in Marseilles.His translations included works on the subjects of philosophy, travel and agriculture by English and Scottish authors:...
; and it retained its popularity for so long that Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
felt justified in writing a scathing critique of it nearly 150 years later, in 1890.
His fever powder, which he patented in 1747, was one of the most successful of 18th-century patent medicines,
though he is said to have "tarnished his image by patenting his powders, and falsifying their specification". (It was considered unbecomingly mercenary to patent a medicine, and his falsification of the ingredients in the patent documentation would have been designed to prevent others from replicating his formulation.) The use of this preparation, a compound of antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
and phosphate of lime, has been cited as a contributing factor in the death of Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
.
Translations
- Dissertation on Endemical Diseases [by Friedrich HoffmannFriedrich HoffmannFriedrich Hoffmann was a German physician and chemist.-Life and career:His family had been connected with medicine for 200 years before him. Born in Halle , he attended the local gymnasium where he acquired that taste for and skill in mathematics to which he attributed much of his after success...
] and Treatise on the Diseases of Tradesmen [by Bernardini Rammazini], 1746 - The Presages of Life and Death in Diseases [by Prosper Alpinus], 1746
- Health's Improvement [by Thomas MuffetThomas MuffetThomas Muffet was an English naturalist and physician. He is best known for his Puritan beliefs, his study of insects in regards to medicine , his support of the Paracelsian system of medicine, and his emphasis on the importance of experience over reputation in the field of medicine.-Early...
], 1746 - A Treatise on Tobacco, Tea, Coffee and Chocolate [by Simon Paulli], 1746
- The Modern Practice of Physick [by Herman BoerhaaveHerman BoerhaaveHerman Boerhaave was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions...
, with annotations by Gerard van SwietenGerard van SwietenGerard van Swieten was a Dutch-Austrian physician.Van Swieten was born in Leiden. He was a pupil of Hermann Boerhaave and became in 1745 the personal physician of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. In this position he implemented a transformation of the Austrian health service and medical...
and additions from Friedrich Hoffmann], 1746
Original works
- A Medicinal Dictionary, Including Physic, Surgery, Anatomy, Chymistry, and Botany, in All Their Branches Relative to Medicine; Together with a History of Drugs, an Account of Their Various Preparations, Combinations, and Uses; and an Introductory Preface, Tracing the Progress of Physic and Explaining the Theories Which Have Principally Prevail'd in All Ages of the World, 1743–45
- A Treatise on the Gout and Rheumatism, 1745
- A Dissertation on Fevers and Inflammatory Distempers, 1748
- A Treatise on Canine Madness, 1760
- A Vindication of the Fever Powder, with a Short Treatise on the Disorders of Children, 1778