Overview
The William Heberden papers, 1740-1786 (inclusive), contain manuscripts by English physician William Heberden (1710-1801) about the use of amulets and magic in medicine, a lecture on the medicinal uses of plants, and notes and prescriptions. Also includes correspondence addressed to Heberden from Stephen Hales (1677-1761), who reports his successful use of ventilators on ships and discusses the evils of strong liquor; a few letters of others concerning cure for bladder stones; obituaries; and a report.
Dates
- Creation: 1740-1786 (inclusive).
Creator
- Heberden, William, 1710-1801. (Person)
Language of Materials
Papers are in English, French, and Latin.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Access requires advance notice. Contact Public Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
Public Domain.
Extent
0.13 cubic feet (1 flat storage box)The William Heberden papers, 1740-1786 (inclusive), contain manuscripts by English physician William Heberden about the use of amulets and magic in medicine, a lecture on the medicinal uses of plants, and notes and prescriptions. Also includes correspondence addressed to Heberden from Stephen Hales (1677-1761), who reports his successful use of ventilators on ships and discusses the evils of strong liquor; a few letters of others concerning cure for bladder stones; obituaries; and a report.
Papers are predominantly in English, with some materials in French and Latin.
Biographical Note
William Heberden (1710-1801), M.D., 1739, St. John's College, Cambridge, England, was an English physician. After graduating from Cambridge, he studied at a London hospital and taught medicine at the college, lecturing in materia medica. He was a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (1746), a member of the Royal Society, and an honorary member of the Royal Society of Medicine, Paris. He practiced for over thirty years in London and wrote detailed notes on his cases, which formed the basis for his Commentaries on the History and Cure of Diseases, published posthumously by his son William Heberden the Younger (1767–1845). Commentaries contain his original descriptions of angina pectoris and chicken pox; Heberden's account of angina led to its recognition as a distinct disease.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged chronologically.
Processing Information
Processed by Brooke McManus, 2015 November.
Processing staff in the Center for the History of Medicine analyzed, arranged, and described the papers, and created a finding aid to improve access in 2015. The collection was described in a card catalog at an earlier date; the folder titles, as previously devised by staff, were retained.
Please note that the following abbreviations have been used: "A.L." for autographed letter; "A.L.s." for autographed letter signed; "A.MS." for autographed manuscript signed; and "MS.L." for manuscript letter.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Education, Medical.
- History of Medicine.
- Lectures.
- Materia Medica -- history.
- Materia medica -- Study and teaching.
- Medicine -- 18th century.
- Medicine -- Formulae, receipts, prescriptions.
- Medicine -- History -- 18th century.
- Medicine, Botanic.
- Medicine, magic, mystic, and spagiric.
- Pharmaceutical Preparations.
- Physicians -- history -- England.
- Physicians' writings.
- Temperance.
- Urinary Bladder Calculi -- history.
- Title
- Heberden, William, 1710-1801. Papers, 1740-1786 (inclusive): Finding Aid
- Author
- Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine.
- Language of description
- und
- Sponsor
- Preservation and description was supported by the Arcadia-funded project Harvard in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
- EAD ID
- med00221
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.