George Thomson (c. 1619–1676) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, medical writer and pamphleteer. He was a leading figure in an attempt to create a "College of Chemical Physicians", a rival to the established

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

. He rejected the traditional

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

ic approach to medicine and argued against medical

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) was the deliberate withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and othe ...

, purging and the doctrine of curing by "contraries". He performed a

splenectomy A splenectomy is the surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen. The spleen is an important organ in regard to immunological function due to its ability to efficiently destroy encapsulated bacteria. Therefore, removal of ...

on a dog which stimulated debate in scientific and medical circles, and challenged prevailing medical theories about the body.Elmer & Grell, 2004, pp. 134-137.

Life and work

Thomson was born around 1619, and served under Prince Maurice in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

; he was taken prisoner by the parliamentarians at Newbury in 1644 and spent a period in

Fleet prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

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 ...

. On his release he attempted to obtain a license from the ''College of Physicians'', but finding the licensing charge too excessive, went on to obtain his

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the 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 physician. This ge ...

from

Leyden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in 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 ...

) instead, graduating on 15 June 1648; the thesis he submitted for this purpose was "''Disputatio de Apoplexia''" (Leyden, 1648). He subsequently rejected

Galenic medicine Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Roman and Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher. Considered to be one of the most accomplished of all medical researcher ...

, becoming a strong supporter of the ideas of

Jan Baptist van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont ( , ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be ...

( Helmontian medicine). Around 1656, he performed a

on a dog, successfully keeping the animal alive afterwards for more than 2 years. This challenged the prevailing humoralist theory of the body, and attracted the attention of physicians and scientists in London, including

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...

and

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

. During the

great plague The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. The disease is c ...

of 1665 he lived in London, and made a special study of the symptoms, even dissecting the body of a plague victim. In 1665 he published "''Loimologia: a Consolatory Advice, and some brief Observations concerning the present Pest''", in which he reflected on the conduct of those members of the

who left the city during the plague. He accused them of running away and "leaving this great city destitute of their help, when it most needed it". This pamphlet drew a furious reply from John Heydon entitled "''Psonthonphanchia, or a Quintuple Rosiecrucian Scourge for the due Correction of that Pseudo-chymist and Scurrilous Emperick, Geo. Thomson''" (London, 1665). In 1665, Thomson also published "''Galeno-pale, or a chymical Trial of the Galenists, that their Dross in Physick may be discovered''", in which he protested against the contempt of English medical practitioners for experience, and their implicit reliance on theory. He also argued strongly against the excessive

Bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) was the deliberate withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and othe ...

and purging in vogue, and against the method of attempting to cure diseases by contraries. This drew a reply by William Johnson, entitled "''Agyrto-mastik Or, some brief animadversions upon two late treatises: one of Master George Thomsons, entituled Galeno-Pale etc.''"(London, 1665), which was published, together with a eulogy of "Galeno-pale", by

George Starkey George Starkey (1628–1665) was a Colonial American alchemist, medical practitioner, and writer of numerous commentaries and chemical treatises that were widely circulated in Western Europe and influenced prominent men of science, including Robe ...

. In the following year Thomson pursued the subject in ‘''Loimotomia, or the Pest anatomised''’. In 1670 Thomson published a treatise against blood-letting under the title of "''Haimatiasis, or the true Way of preserving the Bloud''", which plunged him into a new controversy with

Henry Stubbe Henry Stubbe or Stubbes (1632–12 July, 1676) was an English royal physician, Latinist, historian, dissident, writer and scholar. Life He was born in Partney, Lincolnshire, and educated at Westminster School. Given patronage as a child by th ...

(1631–1676), who replied in "''The Lord Bacon's Relation of the Sweating-Sickness examined, in a Reply to George Thomson, Pretender to Physick and Chymistry, together with a Defence of Phlebotomy''" (London, 1671). Thomson rejoined in "''A check given to the insolent garrulity of Henry Stubbe etc.''" (London, 1671). Letters were exchanged and published by Thomson in the following year. In 1673, he published "''Epilogismi Chymici Observationes necnon Remedia Hermetica Longa in Arte Hiatrica exercitatione constabilita''", and, in 1675, "''The direct method of curing chymically etc''". Thomson was married twice: first, on 2 November 1667, to Abigail, daughter of Hugh Nettleshipp, salter, of Wandsworth, Surrey; and secondly, on 31 October 1672, to Martha Bathurst of Battersea, Surrey. Thomson's portrait, engraved from life in 1670 by William Sherwin, is prefixed to several of his works.Engraved portrait of George Thomson
(

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

Life and work

References

Further reading