William Read (1648 - May 24, 1715) was a well-known unqualified

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack ...

medical practitioner who made fraudulent medical claims, styled himself as an

oculist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

and was knighted by Queen Anne for his medical services.

Career

Read was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He was the son of a cobbler and originally worked as a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

. He was

illiterate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

.James, R. Rutson. (2013 edition). ''Studies in the History of Ophthalmology in England Prior to 1800''. Cambridge University Press. p. 122-126. He practiced

ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

in the North and West of England for many years, and by 1694, settled at York Buildings in

Strand, London The Strand (commonly referred to with a leading "The", but formally without) is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End Theatre, West End theatreland, runs just over from Tra ...

. He was known for his

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 ...

advertisements; for example, he claimed in the ''

Tatler ''Tatler'' (stylised in all caps) is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper and upper-middle c ...

'' that "he had been thirty-five years in the practice of couching cataracts, taking off all sorts of wens, curing wry necks and hair-lips without blemish." In 1705, Read was appointed oculist to

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

. On July 27, Read was knighted by Queen Anne for his services. Queen Anne, who suffered from weak eyes has been described as a "natural prey of quacks".Anonymous. (1911). ''Some Notable Quacks''. ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' 1 (2630): 1264-1274 Read advertised himself as "Her Majesty's Oculist". A 1705 poem in honour of Read, "The Oculist" that appears in pamphlet form, is stored at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and the library of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

. In 1706, Read authored a major work ''A Short But Exact Account of All the Diseases Incident to the Eyes''. Many years later in 1932, ophthalmologist Arnold Sorsby revealed that part of the book was plagiarized from Richard Banister's ''A Treatise of One Hundred and Thirteene Diseases of the Eyes, and Eye-liddes''.Albert, Daniel M; Henkind, Paul. (1994). ''Men of Vision: Lives of Notable Figures in Ophthalmology''. Saunders. pp. 33-37. He was appointed oculist to

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. ...

in 1714. Read died in Rochester on May 24, 1715 and is buried at St Nicholas' Church.

Publications

*''A Short but Exact Account of All the Diseases Incident to the Eyes'' (1706)

Career

Publications

See also

References

Further reading