John Hutton FRS (died 1712) was a Scottish physician and Member of Parliament. He was a native of Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire, and in early life was a herd-boy to the local episcopalian minister, who ensured that he received a good education, studying medicine at Edinburgh and graduating M.D. at Padua. By chance he was the nearest doctor on hand when Princess Mary of Orange fell from her horse in 1686 and so impressed

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

that the latter, after making diligent enquiries about Hutton's experience and character, appointed him his wife's physician. When William became king of England in 1689 he appointed Hutton the court physician on £400 p.a., enabling his election as a fellow of the

College of Physicians A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

in 1690. He accompanied the king to Ireland, and was with him at the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

and at the Siege of Limerick. In addition to acting as William's personal physician he also acted as physician-general to his army. In 1695 he was awarded M.D. at Oxford and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 30 November 1697. When Queen Anne gained the throne in 1702 he continued as her first physician, but only for 6 months. He did, however, retain his post as physician-general of the Army until 1707. In 1710 he was encouraged by his countrymen to sit in Parliament as the representative for

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

, which he did until his death in 1712. He never married. After bequests to Caerlaverock and his family, the remainder of his estate went to his cousin, the keeper of

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

in London, who had provided him with lodgings in the house and complied with his request to be buried in the chapel there.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, John 1712 deaths People from Dumfries 17th-century Scottish medical doctors 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Alumni of the University of Edinburgh