David Uwins (c.1780–22 September 1837) was an English physician and medical writer.

Life

Born in London about 1780, he was the second son of Thomas Uwins (died 1806), clerk in the Bank of England, and brother of

Thomas Uwins Thomas Uwins (24 February 1782, in London – 26 August 1857) was a British portrait, subject, genre and landscape painter (in watercolour and oil), and a book illustrator. He became a full member of the Old Watercolour Society and a Royal ...

, the artist. After working in London hospitals he graduated with an MD from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

on 12 September 1803. Returning to London, he held for a short time the post of assistant physician at the

Finsbury dispensary The Finsbury Dispensary, more fully the Finsbury Dispensary for Administering Advice and Medicines to the Poor, was a charitable dispensary giving medical treatment to poor people in Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London. It was founded i ...

, and then established himself at

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamsh ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

. On 22 December 1807 he was admitted a licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, and in 1815 was elected physician to the City dispensary, and later to the new Finsbury and central dispensary. In 1828 Uwins was appointed physician to the lunatic asylum at

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vill ...

. In later life, through his friend

Frederic Hervey Foster Quin Frederic Hervey Foster Quin (12 February 1799 – 24 November 1878) was the first homeopathic physician in England. Early life and education Quin's place of birth has been concluded, based on recent research, to have been Ireland; although per ...

, he became one of the first English converts to

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a di ...

. He encountered opposition, and suffered a breakdown. Uwins died in London at his house in Bedford Row on 22 September 1837, and was buried at

Kensal Green cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

Works

Uwins published in 1833 ''A Treatise on those Disorders of the Brain and Nervous System which are usually considered and called Mental''. It established his medical reputation. He announced his convictions as a mhomeopath in a pamphlet ''Homœopathy and Allopathy, or Large, Small, and Atomic Doses''. He wrote also: * ''Modern Medicine'', London, 1808. * ''Cursory Observations on Fever'', London, 1810. * ''Modern Maladies and the Present State of Medicine'', London, 1818. * ''A Compendium of Theoretical and Practical Medicine'', London, 1825. * ''A Treatise on those Diseases which are either directly or indirectly connected with Indigestion, comprising a Commentary on the Principal Ailments of Children'', London, 1827. * ''Nervous and Mental Disorders'', London, 1830. Uwins wrote medical articles for George Gregory's ''Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences'', 1806; and contributed to the "Reports" series, begun by John Reid in the ''

Monthly Magazine ''The Monthly Magazine'' (1796–1843) of London began publication in February 1796. Contributors Richard Phillips was the publisher and a contributor on political issues. The editor for the first ten years was a literary jack-of-all-trades, Dr ...

''. He wrote two articles in the ''

Quarterly Review The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, f ...

'', on "Insanity and Madness" in July 1816, and on "Vaccination" in July 1818, and for a time edited the ''Medical Repository''.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Uwins, David 1780 births 1837 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors English medical writers British homeopaths Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery