Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 914

JOHN FOTHERGILL (1712-1780) An account of the sore throat attended with ulcers. Printed for C. Davis 1748 [1] iv, 62 pp. 17.5 cm.

Fothergill, a native of Yorkshire, was apprenticed to a local apothecary at the age of fifteen. His exceptional abilities were soon recognized and he was released from his apprenticeship to study medicine at Edinburgh. He received his medical degree in 1736, studied for two years at London's St. Thomas Hospital, spent a year traveling and studying in Europe, and then returned to London in 1740 to establish a private practice. He was highly successful and developed an extremely large and lucrative practice. Fothergill was a devout Quaker, a noted philanthropist and humanitarian and was also an active supporter of the American colonies. He was the first graduate of Edinburgh ever to be admitted to the Royal College of Physicians (1744) and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1763. It was the present work that brought Fothergill fame during his lifetime and helped build his medical practice. In it he accurately described the clinical signs and symptoms of diphtheria and scarlatinal angina; however, he did not differentiate between the two conditions.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 5049; Osler (3rd ed., 1751); Wellcome III, p. 45

Gift of John Martin, M.D.