Richard Hale M.D. (1670–1728) was an English physician, 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 ...

in 1721.

Life

The eldest son of Richard Hale of New Windsor, Berkshire, he was born at

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, Kent, in 1670. He entered

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

, with his younger brother, Henry, in June 1689, where

Thomas Sykes Thomas Sykes may refer to: * Thomas Sykes (academic) (died 1705), English academic *Thomas Sykes (Mississippi politician) (fl. 1870s), American politician in Mississippi * Thomas A. Sykes (c. 1835–?), American politician in North Carolina and Tenn ...

was his tutor. He graduated B.A. on 19 May 1693, M.A. on 4 February 1695, M.B. on 11 February 1697, and M.D. on 23 June 1701. Hale first was in practice in Oxford, where his use of

opiate An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...

s undermined his reputation. He settled in London, and was elected 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 ...

on 9 April 1716. He was three times a censor of the College. Mentored by

Edward Tyson Edward Tyson (20 January 1651 – 1 August 1708) was an English scientist and physician. He is commonly regarded as the founder of modern comparative anatomy, which compares the anatomy between species. Biography Tyson was born the son of Edward ...

, Hale succeeded him as physician to the

Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals The Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals were two charitable foundations that were independently put into the charge of the City of London. They were brought under joint administration in 1557. Bethlehem Hospital The Bethlem Royal Hospital was foun ...

(Bedlam) in 1708. As a clinician he was influenced by iatromechanics; his reputation, after his death, was for mild treatment of mental illness, for example by sedation, rather than physical restraints. He put in place a system for regulating admissions and discharges at Bethlem. Hale was married, to Frances, widow of Richard Lloyd. At the end of his life, as a private psychiatric patient, Hale attended Frances, wife of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, by that time a Jacobite exile in Paris. Frances, daughter of

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, ( 16655 March 1726) was an English aristocrat. He was born at West Dean, Wiltshire, the third son of Robert Pierrepont of Thoresby, Nottinghamshire (son of William Pierrepont ), and h ...

, and sister of

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, ...

who cared for her in England and brought in Hale, is now considered to have been suffering from clinical depression. This high-profile case was managed discreetly, in its aspects of lunacy and custody proceedings. Hale's judgement that Lady Mar was insane was later reversed, after his death, by

Richard Mead Richard Mead, FRSFRCP (11 August 1673 – 16 February 1754) was an English physician. His work, ''A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it'' (1720), was of historic importance in advancing t ...

. After caring for Lady Mar over only about two months, Hale was followed by either

Richard Tyson (1680–1750) Richard Tyson (born ) is an American actor. He is best known as Kaz in '' Hardball'' (1989–1990) as well as his film roles in ''Three O'Clock High'' (1987), ''Two Moon Junction'' (1988), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), '' Bound to Vengeance'' (2 ...

, married to his niece Elizabeth Hale and son of Edward Tyson, or

James Monro (1680–1752) James Monro (1838 – 28 January 1920) was a lawyer who became the first Assistant Commissioner (Crime) of the London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and ...

who succeeded him at Bedlam.

Works

Hale delivered the Harveian oration in 1724. It was published in 1725, and contains an account of the English medieval physicians.

Death and legacy

Hale died on 26 September 1728, a wealthy man. He gave the College of Physicians £500 for their library, and his arms, vert, three pheons argent, were used on its books. His nephew Thomas Tower succeeded to his estates in Buckinghamshire and Essex.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Richard 1670 births 1728 deaths 18th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society