John Freke (1688–1756) was an Englishsurgeon. Together with Percival Pott he was instrumental in separating the profession of surgeon from that of barber.
Freke was the son of a rural minister from Ockford Fitzpaine, Dorset. At the age of 17 he was apprenticed to a prominent London surgeon, Richard Blundell.[1]
He became an assistant surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital (known as Barts) in 1726, and one year later was put in charge of the anatomical and surgical preparations.[2] In 1727 the Governors of Barts had decided that there was a requirement for some surgeons to be specialists, and Freke was appointed to deal with diseases of the eye, becoming the first ophthalmic surgeon.
He was a surgeon at Barts from 1729 to 1755 and was a Governor of the hospital from 1736 to 1756. He trained Edward Nourse who in turn trained Percival Pott. In 1745 he established the Company of Surgeons. He designed several medical instruments including an improved obstetricforceps.[3] He was the first to record the genetic error that causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva,[4] and his 1748 Essay on the Art of Healing identified points of interest of breast cancer and referred to the danger of not removing infected lymphatic tissue.[5]
The Murder Act 1752 allowed the bodies of convicted murderers to be dissected for the study of anatomy, and in his role overseeing anatomical preparations, Freke was able to take advantage of the increase in the number of available specimens. The hospital hired a house in Cock Lane to which the bodies were delivered.[2]
He had scientific interests outside medicine. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1729 and contributed various articles to their journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1746 he wrote a treatise on electricity, An Essay to shew the Cause of Electricity and why some things are Non-Electricable, in which is also considered its Influence in the Blasts on Human Bodies, in the Blights on Trees, in the Damps in Mines, and as it may affect the Sensitive Plants (republished in 1752 with the more concise title Treatise on the Nature and Property of Fire),[5] expressing the belief that lightning and electricity were the same.[6] He is mentioned in Tom Jones and as a friend of William Hogarth may have been the model for the president of the College of Surgeons in Reward of Cruelty, the final plate of his series The Four Stages of Cruelty. His friendship with Samuel Richardson meant he was one of select group who were able to read the manuscript of Clarissa before it was published.[5]
1746 copy of Freke's "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
Title page to "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
Preface to "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
First page of "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
A Leyden jar is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar. It typically consists of a glass jar with metal foil cemented to the inside and the outside surfaces, and a metal terminal projecting vertically through the jar lid to make contact with the inner foil. It was the original form of the capacitor.
John Hunter was a Scottish surgeon, one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific methods in medicine. He was a teacher of, and collaborator with, Edward Jenner, pioneer of the smallpox vaccine. He paid for the stolen body of Charles Byrne, and proceeded to study and exhibit it against the deceased's explicit wishes. His wife, Anne Hunter (née Home), was a poet, some of whose poems were set to music by Joseph Haydn.
Percivall Pott was an English surgeon, one of the founders of orthopaedics, and the first scientist to demonstrate that cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen, namely chimney sweeps' carcinoma. Many diseases are his namesake including Pott's fracture, Pott's disease of the spine, and Pott's puffy tumour. It is believed that Pott's standard of living contributed to the rise of the surgeon within social standings.
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal University of London, and the United Hospitals. It was formed in 1995 by the merger of the London Hospital Medical College and the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Edward Davy was an English physician, scientist, and inventor who played a prominent role in the development of telegraphy, and invented an electric relay.
St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust.
Alexander Monro was a Scottish surgeon and anatomist. His father, the surgeon John Monro, had been a prime mover in the foundation of the Edinburgh Medical School and had arranged Alexander's education in the hope that his son might become the first Professor of Anatomy in the new university medical school.
Bartholomew Mosse was an Irish surgeon and impresario responsible for founding the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin.
The Four Stages of Cruelty is a series of four printed engravings published by English artist William Hogarth in 1751. Each print depicts a different stage in the life of the fictional Tom Nero.
St Mark's Hospital, The National Bowel Hospital is a hospital in Park Royal, Greater London, England. Managed by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, it is the only hospital in the world to specialise entirely in intestinal and colorectal medicine and is a national and international referral centre for intestinal and colorectal disorders. It is the only hospital in the UK, and one of only 14 worldwide, to be recognised as a centre of excellence by the World Organisation of Digestive Endoscopy.
Thomas Percival was an English physician, health reformer, ethicist and author who wrote an early code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 1803, Medical Ethics; or, a Code of Institutes and Precepts, Adapted to the Professional Conduct of Physicians and Surgeons in which he coined the expression "medical ethics". He was a founding subscriber of the Portico Library in Manchester and a pioneering campaigner for public health measures and factory regulation in the city.
William Oliver was a British physician and philanthropist, and inventor of the Bath Oliver. He was born at Ludgvan, Cornwall, and baptised on 27 August 1695, described as the son of John Oliver the owner of the Trevarno Estate. His family, originally seated at Trevarnoe in Sithney, resided afterwards in Ludgvan, and the estate of Treneere in Madron, which belonged to him, was sold in 1768 after his death. When he decided to erect a monument in Sithney churchyard to the memory of his parents, Alexander Pope wrote the epitaph and drew the design of the pillar. He was admitted a pensioner of Pembroke College, Cambridge on 17 September 1714, graduated M.B. in 1720, and M.D. in 1725, and to complete his medical training, entered at Leiden University on 15 November 1720. On 8 July 1756 he was incorporated at Oxford, and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 22 January 1729–30.
Lewis Devisme was a British diplomat.
Henry Earle FRS (1789–1838) was an English surgeon.
Balthazar or Balthasar Nebot, was a painter active in England between 1729 and 1765.
William Norford (1715–1793) was an English medical practitioner and writer.
James Hill was a Scottish surgeon working in Dumfries who advocated curative excision for cancer rather than the palliative approach adopted by many leading surgeons of the day. By follow-up of his patients over years he demonstrated that his radical approach resulted in better outcomes than those published by contemporaries. His experience in diagnosing and treating intracranial bleeding after head injury by directed trephine resulted in the best results published in the 18th century and represent an important landmark in the management of post-traumatic intracranial haemorrhage.
Samuel Clossy MB MD was a pioneering Irish anatomist and the first college professor of a medical subject in North America.
John Birch was an English surgeon, anti-vaccination activist and medical writer.
Sir Charles Blicke (1745–1816?) was an English surgeon.
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1746 copy of Freke's "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
Title page to "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
Preface to "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
First page of "An essay to shew the cause of electricity, and why some things are non-electricable"
