Anthony Addington (1713 – 22 March 1790) was an English physician.

Life

Addington was born at Twyford, youngest son of Henry Addington (1659-1729), a

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

who owned a "moderately sized" estate there, where the family had been settled for generations, and his second wife, Elizabeth (c. 1670-1746), daughter of Anthony and Joanna Watts, of

Sulgrave Sulgrave is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, about north of Brackley. The village is just south of a stream that rises in the parish and flows east to join the River Tove, a tributary of t ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

. He went up to

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, where he took the degree of M.A. on 13 May 1740 and of M.D. on 24 January 1744. He was subsequently admitted a fellow of the

College of Physicians A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

, and went into practice in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but was compelled by bad health to move to the country. His career gained considerable public attention when he appeared as an expert for the prosecution of

Mary Blandy Mary Blandy (c. 1720 – 6 April 1752) was an eighteenth century British murderer. In 1751, she Poisoning, poisoned her father, Francis Blandy, with arsenic. She claimed that she thought the arsenic was a love potion that would make her father a ...

for the poisoning of her father Francis Blandy in 1752. He then retired to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, where he derived a large income from his profession, until his death in 1790. He devoted his attention particularly to the treatment of

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

, and was one of the physicians called in to see

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

when he first showed symptoms of mental aberration. Addington was a confidential friend and adviser of

Lord Chatham Earl of Chatham, of Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the County of Kent, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1766 for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, William Pitt the Elder on his appointment as Lord Privy Seal, along with ...

. He took part in unsuccessful negotiations of a coalition between Chatham and

Lord Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Mini ...

Works

Addington wrote ''An Essay on the Sea Scurvy, wherein is proposed an easy method of curing that distemper at sea, and of preserving water sweet for any cruise or voyage''. Reading, 1753. In this work, he describes the disease from accounts of others, rather than from his own observation. As treatment he recommended depletion, with the employment of

seawater Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximat ...

as a purgative, and drinks acidulated with

muriatic acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gast ...

. He conceives meat to be injurious, but regards biscuit as food suitable to persons affected with

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. He asserted that the addition of an ounce and a half of muriatic acid to a tun of water, will prevent its putrefaction, and preserve it sweet for any length of time. ''An authentic Account of the Part taken by the late Earl Chatham in a Transaction which passed in the beginning of the year 1778'' is no longer attributed to Addington.

Family

Addington married in 1745, Mary, daughter of the Rev. Haviland John Hiley, headmaster of

Reading grammar school Reading School is a state grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England, althou ...

Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (30 May 175715 February 1844) was a British Tory statesman who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804 and as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1789 to 1801. Addington is b ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

from 1801 to 1804, was their eldest son.

John Hiley Addington John Hiley Addington (August 1759 – 11 June 1818) was a British Tory party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1787 and 1818. Background and education Addington was the second son of Anthony Addi ...

was the second son. *Anne, the eldest, married in 1770 William Goodenough M.D., who died that year. *Eleanor, the second, married James Sutton (died 1801) of Devizes. *Elizabeth married William Hoskins. *Charlotte, the youngest, married in 1788 Charles Bragge Bathurst.

References

*Long, George. ''The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge''. London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1842–1844. 4 vols. *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Addington, Anthony 1713 births 1790 deaths People from Twyford, Berkshire People from Reading, Berkshire 18th-century English medical doctors People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Parents of prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...