David Macbride (1726–1778) was an Irish medical writer. He is now remembered mainly for his work on the treatment of

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

Life

Born at

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated i ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, 26 April 1726, he was the son of Robert McBride, Presbyterian minister there, and brother of John MacBride; his mother's name before marriage was Boyd. He was educated at the village school, and apprenticed to a local surgeon. Macbride was for a short time surgeon's mate on a hospital ship and surgeon in the navy, and he acquired an acquaintance with the diseases of seamen which he afterwards turned to advantage. After the peace (1748) he attended lectures on anatomy by

Alexander Monro primus Alexander Monro (19 September 169710 July 1767) 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 h ...

in Edinburgh, and, going to London, he heard also William Hunter, on the same subject, and William Smellie on midwifery. In 1749 he returned to Ballymoney, but moved to Dublin in 1751. He joined, and read papers before, the Medico-Philosophical Society there (established in 1756), and after the death of Charles Smith in 1762 he became its secretary. Until 1764, when the publication of ''Experimental Essays'' made his reputation, Macbride had only a small medical practice. The

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

created him M.D. 27 November 1764, and he prospered. In the winter of 1776–7 he began lecturing on medicine in his own house. In December 1767 Macbride made a discovery in the art of

tanning Tanning may refer to: * Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather * Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin ** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun ** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...

, advocating the use of

lime water Limewater is the common name for a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide. Calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, is sparsely soluble at room temperature in water (1.5 g/L at 25 °C). "Pure" (i.e. less than or fully saturated) limewater ...

in the process. For this he was, on 31 March 1768, made an honorary member of the Dublin Society, which awarded him a silver medal on 14 April following. The Society of Arts of London subsequently gave him a gold medal. On 14 November 1769 he petitioned the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

for aid in developing his invention, and on 19 Nov. a committee was appointed, which reported favourably; no support seems, however, to have been given. In 1777 Macbride sent over to England by Dr. Morton what was said to be the original of the

solemn league and covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August ...

, which he had inherited from his grandfather. In his last years he suffered poor health. He died at his house in Cavendish Row, Dublin, on 28 December 1778; he was buried in St. Audoen's Church there.

Works

Macbride published: * ''Experimental Essays'', London, 1764; 2nd edit. enlarged, 1767; another edit. 1776. The essay "On the Nature and Properties of Fixed Air" in it to a some extent anticipated the discoveries of

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...

. The book contained the first publication of the gas theories of

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a Scottish physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of ...

. Macbride combined Black's ideas with those of Sir John Pringle. * ''Historical Account of the New Method of Treating the Scurvy at Sea'', London, 1768. In 1762 Macbride communicated his views on the treatment of

to his friend George Cleghorn, through whom they reached William Hunter and Henry Tone, one of the commissioners for taking care of sick and wounded seamen. Macbride advised the use of fresh

wort Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort al ...

, as used in brewing, and the Lords of the Admiralty ordered trials.

Lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...

, recommended by

James Lind James Lind (4 October 1716 – 13 July 1794) was a Scottish doctor. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting one of the first ever clinical trials, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy. Lind arg ...

in his ''Treatise on the Scurvy'' of 1754, in the end prevailed as a treatment; but Macbride's brother John, who was commander of HMS ''Jason'', made an experiment with the cure in a voyage of 1765–7, and the ship's surgeon, Alexander Young, sent his journal to Macbride, who published it as an appendix to the ''Historical Account''.

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted e ...

's award-winning work on

soda water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

and scurvy drew on Macbride's ideas. *''Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Physic'', London, 1772; 2nd and enlarged edit. Dublin, 1776, 2 vols. This work grew out of his lectures; it was translated into Latin, and published at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

in 1774. He also contributed medical papers to periodicals. His ''Account of the Improved Method of Tanning Leather'' was published in ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'' for 1778. ''The Principles of Virtue and Morality'' was published, Boston, 1796, as part of "The Moral Library".

Family

Macbride married, first, on 20 November 1753, Margaret Armstrong; and secondly, on 5 June 1762, Dorcas, widow of George Cumming. He left no issue.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Macbride, David 1726 births 1778 deaths Irish medical writers 18th-century Irish medical doctors People from County Antrim