John Pringle.

Sir John Pringle, FRS (April 10, 1707 - January 18, 1782) was a Scottish physician who has been called the "father of military medicine" (although Ambroise Pare (1510-90) and Jonathan Letterman (1824-72) have also been accorded this sobriquet). Download high resolution version (665x829, 162 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (665x829, 162 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A statue of an armoured knight of the Middle Ages For the chess piece, see knight (chess). ... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Acts of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification... The Doctor by Samuel Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, a type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor (disambiguation). ... Ambroise Par . ... Jonathan Letterman Jonathan K. Letterman was an American surgeon credited as being the originator of the modern methods for medical organization in armies. ... A sobriquet is a nickname or a fancy name, usually a familiar name given by others as distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation. ...

Biography

Youth and early career

Pringle was the younger son of Sir John Pringle, of Stitchel, Roxburghshire. He was educated at St Andrews, at Edinburgh, and at Leiden. He took the degree of doctor of physic at the last-named university, where he was an intimate friend of Gerard van Swieten and Albrecht von Haller. Roxburghshire (Siorrachd Rosbroig in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland. ... University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410-1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 as a renowned centre for teaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Leiden University, located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ... Gerard van Swieten on the memorial to Maria Theresia, Vienna Gerard van Swieten (May 7, 1700 – June 18, 1772) was an Austrian physician of Dutch origin. ... Albrecht von Haller. ...

He settled in Edinburgh at first as a physician, but after 1734 also acted as professor of moral philosophy in the university. Edinburgh (pronounced ; Scottish Gaelic: ) is the capital of Scotland and its second-largest city. ...

In 1742 he became physician to the Earl of Stair, then commanding the British army in Flanders, and in 1744 was appointed by the Duke of Cumberland physician-general to the forces in the Low Countries. John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (July 20, 1673 - May 9, 1747) was a Scottish soldier and diplomat. ... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; a... The Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, KG, KB, PC (15 April 1721–31 October 1765), a younger son of King George II of Great Britain and Queen Caroline, was a noted military leader. ... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ...

In 1749, having settled in London, he was made physician in ordinary to the Duke of Cumberland; and in 1752 he married a daughter of Dr William Oliver (1695-1764) of Bath, the inventor of Bath Oliver biscuits. Subsequently he received other court appointments as physician, and in 1766 was made a baronet. His first book, Observations on the Nature and Cure of Hospital and Jayl Fevers, was published in 1750, and in the same year he contributed to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society three papers on Experiments on Septic and Antiseptic Substances, which gained him the Copley Medal. Two years later he published his important work, Observations on the Diseases of the Army in Camp and Garrison, which entitles him to be regarded as the founder of modern military medicine. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Bath (disambiguation). ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ...

Later years

In November 1772 he was elected president of the Royal Society. In this capacity he delivered six discourses, which were afterwards collected into a single volume (1783). After passing his seventieth year he resigned his presidency and removed to Edinburgh in 1780, but returned to London in September 1781, and died in the following year. There is a monument to him in Westminster Abbey, executed by Nollekens. The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often considered one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Pringle was a regular correspondent and friend of James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, the Scottish philosopher. Monboddo was an important thinker in pre-evolutionary theory, and some scholars actually credit him with the concept of evolution; however, Monboddo was also quite eccentric, which was one reason for Monboddo's not receiving credit for the evolution concepts. It was in a letter to Pringle in 1773 that Monboddo revealed he did not really hold to a belief of men being born with tails, which was the chief point of his ridicule^[1]. James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714 - May 26, 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar and eccentric. ... In 1832, while travelling on the Beagle, naturalist Charles Darwin collected giant fossils in South America. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• ClanPringle.org.uk