
Jonathan Stokes (c. 1755 – 30 April 1831) was an English physician and botanist, a member of the
Lunar Society of Birmingham, and an early adopter of the heart drug
digitalis
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...
.
Life and work
Stokes was probably born in
Chesterfield,
Derbyshire, around 1755 and studied medicine at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
in 1778, qualifying as MD in 1782.
[Joan Lane. ‘Stokes, Jonathan (1755?–1831)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200]
accessed 23 June 2009 He practised medicine in
Stourbridge
Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham,
at the southwester ...
,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
, and also pursued interests in botany as a plant collector and cataloguer.
Stokes became associated with
William Withering (1741–1799), physician and botanist, who was a member of the influential
Lunar Society. Stokes had dedicated his thesis on
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
to Withering
and became a member with him of the Lunar Society from 1783 to 1788.
Stokes contributed to Withering's ''An Account of the Foxglove and its Medical Uses'' (1785), writing a preface on the history of
digitalis
''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves.
''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...
and providing details of six
clinical trial
Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...
s on patients he had treated for
heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
using Withering's pioneer method. He helped to disseminate medical knowledge of digitalis, lecturing to the Medical Society of Edinburgh on 20 February 1799. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1788.
In 1790 Stokes was elected as one of the inaugural 16 associates of the newly founded
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...
and corresponded with
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish language, Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (mo ...
. He spent the rest of his life in private medical practice in
Chesterfield and pursued many scientific interests, publishing ''A Botanical Materia Medica: Consisting of the Generic and Specific Characters of the Plants Used in Medicine and Diet, with Synonyms, and References to Medical Authors'' (1812) and ''Botanical Commentaries'' (1830).
He died in Chesterfield on 30 April 1831 and was buried at St Mary's, Chesterfield. The plant ''
Stokesia cyanea'' or ''Stokesia laevis'' (Asteraceae/Compositae) is named after him.
Dispute with Withering
Stokes collaborated with Withering on all editions up to the third volume of the second edition (1792) of Withering's standard botanical text, ''The Botanical Arrangement of All the Vegetables Naturally Growing in Great Britain''. Withering and Stokes disagreed with the level of contribution that Stokes's had made to the new edition. Most records state that Withering fell out with Stokes and
Erasmus Darwin. While it is true there were disagreements with both, the disputes were roughly contemporaneous. Stokes disagreed with Withering and then failed to agree with the appointed arbitrator, a personal friend and known only by reputation to Withering.
Similarly, Withering did not "fall out" with Erasmus Darwin. Erasmus Darwin tried in an underhand way to claim precedence in identifying the medical use of Digitalis. He failed and could not tolerate Withering's success and so set out to deliberately destroy Withering's reputation. A letter from Darwin to Dr. Johnstone in Birmingham dated 1788 exists seeking such evidence and trying to accuse Withering of Quackery – the worst insult that could be used at that time. The letter is in the Osler Withering bequest at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. Darwin wrote two further similarly toned letters to Matthew Boulton in 1789. They all failed. The reason for the disagreement with Stokes is unclear and is probably down to lack of a formal arrangement between them. Stokes also failed to return around 150 of Withering's books (valuable property then). Withering had to reclaim these through legal action. When returned, all of the books had been damaged by having plates removed. Withering's letter listing the volumes – some were around 100 years old then – is in the Osler Withering bequest at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.
[The full text of this letter is included in Mann (1985) on page 8. ] Withering was protective of his reputation and having already to deal with the malice of Erasmus Darwin may have become over-defensive as a reaction. Stokes' contributions to Withering's work was significant but it is now impossible to know whether his claim to be considered as a joint/co-author was justified.
Selected writings
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References
Further reading
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External links
OLIS bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Jonathan
19th-century English medical doctors
18th-century English medical doctors
18th-century British botanists
People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire
People from Stourbridge
1750s births
1831 deaths
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham
Fellows of the Linnean Society of London
19th-century British botanists