Clopton Havers (24 February 1657 – April 1702) was an English

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who did pioneering research on the microstructure of bone. He is believed to have been the first person to observe and almost certainly the first to describe what are now called

Haversian canals Haversian canals (sometimes canals of Havers) are a series of microscopic tubes in the outermost region of bone called cortical bone. They allow blood vessels and nerves to travel through them to supply the osteocytes. Structure Each Haversian ...

and

Sharpey's fibres Sharpey's fibres (bone fibres, or perforating fibres) are a Matrix (biology), matrix of connective tissue consisting of bundles of strong predominantly type I Collagen, collagen fibres connecting periosteum to bone. They are part of the outer fibr ...

Early life

Havers was born in

Stambourne __NOTOC__ Stambourne is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District in north Essex, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 409. Stambourne's closest neighbouring villages are Ridgewell, Toppesfield, Cornish Hall End ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, the son of Henry Havers, Rector of Stambourne. He studied medicine under Richard Morton, and later, in 1668, attended

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, but failed to graduate. Following this, Havers' whereabouts are unknown until 1684, when he was admitted as an extra-licentiate of the

College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, which allowed him to practice

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in limited areas of the country. In 1685, he studied at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and was awarded a degree of "Doctor of Medicine" following presentation of his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, entitled ' (On Respiration) in 1685.

Career

Havers practiced medicine in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and was particularly interested in

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

, the study of

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

. He was admitted a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 15 December 1686. His most influential work, ''Osteologia nova, or'' ''some new Observations of the Bones'', was the first report of the microscopic structure of bone. Notably, he described

, which bear his name. He also described

. This work was greatly praised by the Italian scientist

Giorgio Baglivi Giorgio Baglivi ( la, Georgius Baglivus; hr, italic=yes, Gjuro Baglivi; September 8, 1668 – June 15, 1707), born and sometimes anglicized as was a Croatian-Italian physician and scientist. He made important contributions to clinica ...

, and it was published in several editions in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In 1694, he delivered the first Gale anatomy lecture, later combined as the

Arris and Gale Lecture The Arris and Gale Lecture, named for Edward Arris and John Gale, is an awarded lectureship of the Royal College of Surgeons. The first lecture was delivered by Sir William Blizard in 1810. Origin In I646 Edward Arris, an Alderman of the City of ...

. In February 1700, Havers reported to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

practice of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

inoculation Inoculation is the act of implanting a pathogen or other microorganism. It may refer to methods of artificially inducing immunity against various infectious diseases, or it may be used to describe the spreading of disease, as in "self-inoculati ...

, which involved inhaling dried matter from a smallpox

pustule A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sy ...

Later life

Havers married Dorcas Fuller, daughter of Thomas Fuller, the Rector of

Willingale, Essex Willingale is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The civil parish also includes the village of Shellow Bowells and the hamlet of Miller's Green. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...

. Havers died in Willingale in 1702 and was buried at Willingale Doe, Essex. His

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

, dedicated to his

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

, was preached by

Lilly Butler Lilly Butler (died Jan 1792) was an Anglican priest, most notably Dean of Ardagh from 1785 to 1790. He was born in Bletchingley and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. He was ordained deacon in 1754, and priest in 1756. He held livings at Wo ...

, minister of

St Mary Aldermanbury St Mary Aldermanbury was a parish church in the City of London first mentioned in 1181 and destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Rebuilt in Portland stone by Christopher Wren, it was again gutted by the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the ...

, and was later printed in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havers, Clopton People from Braintree District 1657 births 1702 deaths 17th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society