Ezekiel Nesbitt (1712–1798) was an Irish medical doctor who twice held the presidency of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI).

Background and education

Nesbitt was born in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

and educated privately in the town of

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a small town in County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan. It gave its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was l ...

. His father, George Nesbitt, was a clergyman from

Mountcharles Mountcharles () is a village and townland (of 650 acres) in the south of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It lies 6 km from Donegal Town on the Killybegs road ( N56). It is situated in the civil parish of Inver ...

in Donegal. Ezekiel studied at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1728/1729 to 1732, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. He went on to obtain a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, graduating in 1734. He returned to Trinity College Dublin, where he was awarded a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree in 1740. He was admitted as a candidate for examination at the RCPI in 1741 and received his Fellowship in 1746. He was twice elected President of RCPI, in 1753–1754 and 1763–1764, and in 1765 was made an Honorary Fellow of the college.

Career

Most of Nesbitt's career was spent in private practice in the town of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1759, he was appointed as a physician at the

Rotunda Hospital The Rotunda Hospital (; legally the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, Dublin) is a maternity hospital on Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland, now managed by RCSI Hospitals. The Rotunda entertainment buildings in Parnell Square are no ...

in Dublin, one of the first

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...

s in the world. Nesbitt had been recommended by

Bartholomew Mosse Bartholomew Mosse (1712 – 16 February 1759) was an Irish surgeon and impresario responsible for founding the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Early life Bartholemew Mosse was born in Dysart, 2 km east of Portlaoise (then called Maryborough), t ...

, the founder and Master of the hospital. Nesbitt moved to Bath permanently around 1764 but did not resign from his post at the Rotunda until prompted to do so by the Secretary of the Board of Governors in 1774.

Personal life

In 1747, Nesbitt married Lady Crofton (née Martha Damer), widow of the late

Sir Edward Crofton, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Crofton, 4th Baronet (12 April 1713 – 26 March 1745) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Family Crofton was the son of Sir Edward Crofton, 3rd Baronet and Mary Nixon. He represented County Roscommon in the Irish House of Commons between ...

. Through this marriage Nesbitt joined the influential

Dawson-Damer family The Dawson-Damer family is an Anglo-Irish family whose descendants have been influential in politics, law, and business. They have strong connections to County Tipperary, County Laois, County Carlow, and Dublin in Ireland, as well as Dorset in Engl ...

and benefitted from his wife's £1,000 per annum stipend – equivalent to more than £230,000 in 2020. Nesbitt had broad interests, including the

history of Ireland The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...

celestial cartography Celestial cartography, uranography, astrography or star cartography is the aspect of astronomy and branch of cartography concerned with mapping stars, galaxies, and other astronomical objects on the celestial sphere. Measuring the position ...

seashell A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. Most seashells are made by Mollusca, mollusks, such as snails, clams, and oysters ...

s, the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

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 ...

, and

gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

. Nesbitt died in Bath in 1798.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesbitt, Ezekiel Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland 18th-century Irish medical doctors 1712 births 1798 deaths Medical doctors from County Donegal Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Dawson-Damer family