John Frost (physician)
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Dr John Frost
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...
FSA (1803–1840) was a short-lived but influential physician and botanist who founded the Medico-Botanical Society of London, studying and cataloguing the medicinal properties of plants. He was a controversial and flamboyant figure of the early 19th century.


Life

He was born in 1803 in the
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
area of London. He was born two months premature and a twin and was a delicate child. He attended school in
Langley, Berkshire Langley, also known as Langley Marish, is an area of Slough in Berkshire, England. It is east of Slough town centre and west of Charing Cross in Central London. It was a separate civil parish and village until the 1930s, when the built-up par ...
. He was then sent as an apprentice to Dr Wright, the
apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...
at
Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably ''Bedlam (194 ...
. In 1821 he left and resolved to establish a national study of Materia Medica, leading to his foundation of the Medico-Botanical Society of London. Having been introduced by Dr Bree to
King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
, he was placed as botanical tutor to Prince George of Cumberland and Cambridge (later to become
George V of Hanover George V (Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August; 27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878) was the last King of Hanover, reigning from 18 November 1851 to 20 September 1866. The only child of King Ernest Augustus and Queen Frederica, he succeeded ...
). Dr Bree also introduced Frost to Sir
James McGrigor Sir James McGrigor, 1st Baronet, (9 April 1771 – 2 April 1858) was a Scottish physician, military surgeon and botanist, considered to be the man largely responsible for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served as Rector of the ...
of the army medical board, who was elected first president of the Medico-Botanical Society, whilst Frost served as director. The society proved a huge success and numbered in its members eleven sovereigns of Europe, the entire British royal family, over twenty members of other royal families and almost all foreign ambassadors in London, together with many learned men of the medical world. Frost reportedly carried around an autograph book containing all these famous persons in a single volume. He collected or was given over 7000 botanical specimens for his project. He was then invited to be the official lecturer on botany at the
Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
in London and was made a Fellow of the
Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...
. He was, however, refused fellowship of the
Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...
, perhaps viewing his position one of luck and self-creation rather than skill. Frost further aggravated this relationship by sending a rude letter to the secretary of the society. At the proposal of Dr Maton, from 1824 to 1830 he served as secretary to the
Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning. Hi ...
in London. Aged only 21, he was their youngest-ever secretary. He lived on their premises at Bridge Street in the Blackfriars district. In 1827 he won the Medico-Botanical Society's gold medal for his report on the medical properties of Ipecacuanha with the silver medal going to John Peter Yosy (presumably his brother-in-law) for his paper on Menyanthes Trifiliata ( Buckbean). Yosy was the Secretary of the Society. In 1828 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
his proposer being Robert Graham. In 1828 Earl Stanhope succeeded
James McGrigor Sir James McGrigor, 1st Baronet, (9 April 1771 – 2 April 1858) was a Scottish physician, military surgeon and botanist, considered to be the man largely responsible for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served as Rector of the ...
as second President of Frost's Society. This precipitated a series of disasters. Earl Stanhope being unavailable for his first address to the Society, Frost (who was apparently very vain) took it upon himself to adorn all the various medals and regalia of the President to give a speech to the Society on the 7th of September 1829. This was considered highly inappropriate and word quickly reached Earl Stanhope and his representatives. On 8 January 1830 Earl Stanhope presiding, the Society announced the post of Director abolished, thereby ousting Frost from his own society! In 1830 he received the patronage of the Duke of Cumberland as his personal physician and resigned his envious role as Secretary of the
Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning. Hi ...
. However, rumour reached the Duke that Frost was unreliable, and the duke terminated his position, leaving Frost in a total loss of employment or income. Undeterred, in 1831 he established a new St John's Hospital at St John's Gate, Clerkenwell which he ran. He also joined the Royal Sailing Society. In 1832 he received permission from the
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to use the retired ship HMS Chanticleer as a hospital ship, moored off
Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Mill ...
and aimed to serve the needs of retired Thames boatmen. In this venture King William IV served as Patron, the
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as President. The board of directors included the
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,
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,
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, Admiral Lord J O'Bryen and Admiral Gambier, proving that Frost still had many connections in upper British society. However, he ran up huge debts which could not be repaid and he fled to Paris in 1833 adopting the pseudonym of John FitzJames. He stayed here less than a year and moved to Berlin adopting the title Sir John Frost (but he was never knighted). Some sources say he was a knight of the obscure Brazilian Order of the Southern Star. If so, it may link to his work on Ipecacuanha. He died in
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on 17 March 1840 following a "long and painful illness".


Family

He was married to Harriet Yosy, only daughter of Madame Yosy, author of ''Switzerland and its Costumes''. They had no children.


Publications

*''The Science of Botany'' (1827)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, John 1803 births 1840 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Medical doctors from London 19th-century British medical doctors British botanists