366 



HUNTER. 



Hunter, 

 John. 



and formed & party of friends, who met at a coffee- 

 , house to discuss points of science after the meetings 

 of the Society, which he soon found to increase, and 

 to consist of some of the most eminent men of the 

 age. It contained Sir Joseph Banks, Dr Solander, Sir 

 Charles Blagden, Sir Harry Englefield, Mr Watt of 

 Birmingham, and several others. An accident which 

 he suffered, the rupture of the tendo achillis of one leg 

 in dancing, led him to study particularly the surgical 

 pathology of that part, which he illustrated by experi- 

 ments on animals. In 1768, Mr Hunter went to 

 the house which had been occupied by his brother in 

 Jermy n- street, as the latter moved to his house in Wind- 

 mill-street, which he had just completed, and adapted 

 on an extensive scale to his learned pursuits. Mr 

 Hunter was thus placed in a favourable situation for 

 private practice, and he now became a member of the 

 College of Surgeons. In May 1771, he published his 

 celebrated work on the natural history of the teeth. In 

 the following July he married Miss Home, of whom the 

 present Sir Everard Home was a younger brother. 

 The latter was then at Westminster school, and was 

 brought up by Mr Hunter to the profession of surgery. 

 It is to this gentleman that we are indebted for the in- 

 teresting life of Mr Hunter, prefixed to a posthumous 

 edition of his book on Inflammation. Mr Hunter's pro. 

 gress in acquiring practice was at first slow, as he was 

 not possessed of those winning manners, and did not 

 study those superficial arts by which many rise in this 

 respect to distinction. But the weight of his character 

 for genius and professional industry at last brought 

 him into the highest repute. His income was greatly 

 augmented ; but it was chiefly expended on his muse- 

 um, to which he also regularly devoted his mornings 

 from sun-rise to the hour of breakfast. He continually 

 laboured to turn his physiological discoveries and obser- 

 vations to account in improving the art of surgery. To 

 enumerate his improvements would far exceed our li- 

 mits, and they are only to be learned by perusing his va- 

 luable works. He always delighted in making acute dis- 

 coveries, and striking out new views. It is in explaining 

 the phenomena of inflammation in its various forms, 

 and the principles on which the healing process under 

 various circumstances is conducted, that Mr Hunter's 

 genius is most usefully displayed. Some of his opi- 

 nions cannot be easily admitted as well-founded ; such 

 as his doctrine of the life of the blood, and of the iden- 

 tity of syphilis and gonorrhoea. In the winter of 1773, 

 he began to give lectures on surgery, in which he deli- 

 vered a full account of his practical improvements, as 

 well as- his pathological views. His first two courses 

 were given gratis. He continued to improve compa- 

 rative anatomy by the dissection of various animals, 

 some of which were rare and curious, such as the tor- 

 pedo and the gymnotus electricus, the electrical organs 

 of which he described. He repeatedly dissected the ele- 

 phant ; he discovered those receptacles in the bodies of 

 birds, to which the air passes through the lungs, which 

 threw a new light on the function of respiration as per- 

 formed by that class of animals. He engaged an artist 

 to live with him, for the purpose of making drawings 

 of such parts as did not admit of being preserved. In 

 1776, he was appointed surgeon extraordinary to his 

 Majesty. In the autumn of that year however,' he was 

 taken dangerously ill, and began to reflect seriously on 

 his situation and that of his family. As he had expended 

 Jiis fortune in his museum, he was desirous of making it 

 appear to advantage, that it might bring its value after 

 his death. Accordingly, as soon as his health permitted 

 he arranged it, and made out a systematic catalogue of 



its contents. He aferwards regained sufficient health to Hunter, 

 prosecute his physiological and surgical investigations ; Johllp 

 and numerous ingenious papers written by him after this 

 period, appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Socie- 

 ty. In 1783, he had the honour of being admitted into 

 the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal Academy 

 of Surgery of Paris. The lease of his house in Jermyn- 

 strcet having at this time expired, he purchased one of a 

 large house in Leicester Square, on which he was tempt- 

 ed to expend above 3000, which sum was in a great 

 measure lost to his family by the shortness of the lease. 

 Here he had ample accommodation for his museum. The 

 eclat which this great object gave to him, however, was 

 very great; and the services of his friends and the public 

 were always readily furnished, when they could contri- 

 bute to adorn it with new articles in comparative ana- 

 tomy. In 1780, he published his work On the Vene- 

 real, and his Observations on certain parts of the Ani- 

 mal Economy, consisting of a collection of papers which 

 had appeared in the Philosophical Transactions. About 

 this time his health began to decline, and he was obli- 

 ged to resign much of his laborious duty to his brother- 

 in-law Mr Home ; but we find him still active in add- 

 ing to the stock of professional information. He wrote 

 some physiological papers, for which he obtained the 

 Copleian medal. In 1 792, he gave up his course of lec- 

 tures entirely to Mr Home. But he continued to re- 

 ceive splendid marks of public respect; he was ap. 

 pointed inspector-general of hospitals, and surgeon- 

 general to the army ; he was made a member of the 

 College of Surgeons of Dublin, and one of the vice-pre- 

 sidents of the Veterinary College then first established 

 in London. He continued to write various papers which 

 appeared in the Transactions of the Society for promo- 

 ting medical and chirurgical knowledge. 



His health during the last twenty years of his life was 

 greatly impaired. The symptoms of his disease, which 

 was angina pccloris, are minutely described by Sir Eve- 

 rard Home in the account of his life. The first attack 

 was brought on by mental irritation, and, though he was 

 liable afterwards to slight affections from causes of dif- 

 ferent kinds, every severe attack arose from some men- 

 tal cause. Unfortunately his mind was easily provoked 

 by trifles, while matters of real importance produced no 

 effect. He died suddenly under an accidental irritation 

 at St George's hospital, while he laudably attempted to 

 controul it till he obtained information of the circum- 

 stances by which it was occasioned. This event took 

 place on the 16th of October 1793, in the 65th year 

 of his age. 



He was a man of uncommon originality of thought, 

 which he displayed under considerable deficiencies of 

 general erudition. In this respect he was a contrast to 

 his brother, who united genius with erudition in an emi- 

 nent degree. This circumstance seems, however, to have 

 had the effect of concentrating his attention more com- 

 pletely in his favourite objects of pursuit, and to have 

 given a character of more obvious originality to all his 

 writings. Though ambitious of a high name in his own 

 line of investigation, he was not envious of the well 

 merited honours of others. But he was liable to strong 

 indignation at the presumption of ignorant mediocrity 

 or indolence. He was prone to undervalue too much 

 those professional men who were his inferiors in merit, 

 and who, while they paid no homage to his doctrines, 

 made feeble attempts to shine by their own light. He 

 was frank in his manners and conversation, a decided 

 enemy to all deceit and intrigue, but ,on the whole too 

 apt to speak harshly of his cotemporaries. 



The museum which he left, was purchased by the 



