Joseph Browne (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1706), was an English

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 ...

, generally described as a

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in t ...

and hack writer.

Life

He has been identified with a Joseph Browne of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, who proceeded M.B. 1695; he assumed the title M.D. In 1706 he was twice convicted for libelling Queen Anne's administration. The first of these occasions, when he was fined forty marks and ordered to stand in the

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

, was for the publication of ''The Country Parson's Honest Advice to that judicious and worthy Minister of State my Lord Keeper.'' In a letter addressed to Secretary Robert Harley, 'occasioned by his late commitment to

Newgate Newgate was one of the historic seven gates of the London Wall around the City of London and one of the six which date back to Roman times. Newgate lay on the west side of the wall and the road issuing from it headed over the River Fleet to Mid ...

,' he denies the authorship of this pamphlet, of which at the same time he gives an explanation. He also speaks of Harley as having 'not only treated him like a patriot, but given him friendly advice.' He was again fined forty marks and ordered to stand in the pillory twice.

Works

He was an industrious writer with an obscure and rambling style. He wrote and lectured against

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 ...

's theory of the circulation of the blood, and he continued '' The Examiner'' after it had been dropped by Delarivier Manley, who had succeeded

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

. He sought patronage, and was bold and importunate. His 'Modern Practice of Physick vindicated' (two parts, 1703–4) is dedicated to the Duke of Leeds without permission. He dedicated his 'Lecture of Anatomy against the Circulation of the Blood' (1701) to 'His Excellency Heer Vrybergen, Envoy Extraordinary from the States-General.' His 'Practical Treatise of the Plague' (1720) has a prefatory epistle to Richard Mead, and his last known publication, also on the plague, was addressed to the president and members of the

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 ...

, with which he was not affiliated. Beyond the date of this publication (1721) there is no trace of him. Browne produced an edition of the Latin casebooks of

Théodore de Mayerne Sir Théodore Turquet de Mayerne (28 September 1573 – 22 March 1655) was a Genevan-born physician who treated kings of France and England and advanced the theories of Paracelsus. The Young Doctor Mayerne was born in a Huguenot family in G ...

which includes details of medical treatments given to several courtiers, documents concerning the final illness of Prince Henry, and a journal of his consultations with

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

and

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

. The edition is some respects unreliable with misleading punctuation.Brian Nance, ''Turquet de Mayerne as Baroque Physician: The Art of Medical Portraiture'' (Amsterdam, 2001), p. 35.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Joseph Year of birth missing 18th-century English medical doctors 18th-century deaths 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English writers