George Ent (6 November 1604 – 13 October 1689) was an English scientist in the seventeenth century.
Biography
Ent was born on 6 November 1604 in Sandwich, Kent. He was the son of a Belgian immigrant, Josias Ent (sometimes called John Ent) and his wife Judith; The Ent (or Ente) family of Sandwich came from Newchurch, in the county of Flanders, to avoid religious persecution. George Ent's father died in July 1629, his mother in 1650,
As a boy, Ent went to school in
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, but attended college in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He left for college in April 1624, and received his BA from
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1627 and his MA four years later.
Following his graduation from Sidney, he spent five years at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...
, earning his MD in 1636.
On 25 June 1639, Sir George Ent became a fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians
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 ...
and remained a fellow for the duration of his life. In addition, he served as a censor from 1645 to 1669 (with gaps in service in 1650, 1652, and 1658), a Registrar from 1655 to 1670, and Consiliarius from 1667 to 1669 and 1676 to 1686. He was elected President of the Royal College of Physicians in 1670 and held the position for five years. He also served on 17 August 1682 and 28 May 1684. Ent was also elected 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 ...
as an Original Fellow on 22 April 1663.
On 10 October 1646, Ent married Sarah, the daughter of a former president of the Royal College, Dr. .
Ent was also known as an author, a scholar, and an anatomist. He was widely reputed to be exceptionally eloquent, particularly in Latin. He wrote a number of books, the most prominent of which is probably his ''Apologia'', the first book Ent ever published. In addition, he both studied and gave lectures on anatomy. In 1665, his anatomy lectures at the Royal College of Physicians were observed by King Charles II, who knighted him in April of the same year. This remains the only instance in which a man was actually knighted inside the Royal College.
Although born twenty-six years after him, Ent was a close friend of
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...
, a man known best for his discovery of the circulation of blood. Ent met Harvey in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, shortly after his graduation from Padua. His ''Apologia'' was a defense of Harvey's theory of circulation, and Ent is credited with convincing Harvey to release his ''de Generatione Animalium'', which was actually edited and published by Ent.
Ent is also known for his correspondence with
Cassiano dal Pozzo
Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588 – 22 October 1657) was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, w ...
, who sent Ent fossilized wood specimens, including a tabletop made of petrified wood. Ent showed them to the Royal Society, where they led to increased interest in the origin of fossils.
Ent died in his house in St Giles-in-the-Fields on 13 October 1689 at the age of 84.
Works and Theories
George Ent's significance lies mainly in his contributions to the works of others, particularly his critiques. He is known as one of the closest friends and first defenders of
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...
, and he is considered to be one of Harvey's successors in the study of anatomy. Ent's best known theories build on Harvey's work, while the rest of Ent's work spans a wide spectrum of knowledge.
''Apologia pro circulatione sanguinis''
Translation: ''Defense on Behalf of the Circulation of the Blood''.
Written in 1641, the ''Apologia pro circulatione sanguinis'', Ent's most significant work on
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
, defends the theories of
William Harvey
William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and proper ...
’s book ''
de Motu Cordis
''Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus'' (Latin, 'An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings'), commonly called ''De Motu Cordis'', is the best-known work of the physician William Harv ...
'' (''On the Circulation of the Blood''), directly responding to the criticism of
Emilius Parisianus Emilius may refer to:
People
* Saint Emilius (died 250), Christian martyr
* Emilius Ditlev Bærentzen (1799–1868), Danish painter
* Emilius Bangert (1883–1962), Danish composer, organist, and academic
* Emilius Bayley (1823–1917), English c ...
. This book is significant both on the merits of Ent's own anatomical theories and because it offered one of the first in-depth defenses of Harvey’s work.
In the ''Apologia'', Ent elaborates on Harvey’s theories on
circulation, suggesting that a “nutritive fluid” nourishes the body by passing through the nerves. Ent draws on
John Mayow
John Mayow FRS (1641–1679) was a chemist, physician, and physiologist who is remembered today for conducting early research into respiration and the nature of air. Mayow worked in a field that is sometimes called pneumatic chemistry.
Lif ...
’s theories on
innate heat Vital heat, also called innate or natural heat, or ''calidum innatum'', is a term in Ancient Greek medicine and philosophy that has generally referred to the heat produced within the body, usually the heat produced by the heart and the circulatory s ...
and
respiration
Respiration may refer to:
Biology
* Cellular respiration, the process in which nutrients are converted into useful energy in a cell
** Anaerobic respiration, cellular respiration without oxygen
** Maintenance respiration, the amount of cellul ...
in his discussion of the
nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...
. In addition to Harvey's work, Ent references both ancient and contemporary sources, particularly mentioning writers discussing topics now considered occult, whom Harvey dismissed.
''Sive animadversiones in Malachias Thrustoni''
Translation: ''Or Observations against Malachi Thruston''.
The ''Sive animadversiones in Malachias Thrustoni'' contains Ent's analysis of
Malachi Thruston’s theories on respiration. While containing a reasonable critique, the original theories Ent puts forth in this work do not go beyond those expressed in his Apologia, making this work less significant than the Apologia as an original expression.
Lectures on Anatomy
Ent gave several lectures on
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
at the
Royal College of Physicians
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 ...
in 1665. He is known for being one of only two lecturers to have left his lecture notes in English. After a lecture in April, which
the King attended, Ent received a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
.
Other Works
''Mantissa anatomica'' combines of three of Ent's studies on anatomy – ''Lophius'', ''Galeus'', and ''Rana''. He assembled these as part of an intended broad study of anatomy in the 1650s that never further materialized.
From 1637–1655, Ent corresponded with
Cassiano dal Pozzo
Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588 – 22 October 1657) was an Italian scholar and patron of arts. The secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini, he was an antiquary in the classicizing circle of Rome, and a long-term friend and patron of Nicolas Poussin, w ...
concerning
fossil wood
Fossil wood, also known as fossilized tree, is wood that is preserved in the fossil record. Over time the wood will usually be the part of a plant that is best preserved (and most easily found). Fossil wood may or may not be petrified, in ...
.
Published in 1687, near the end of Ent’s lifetime, the ''Opera Omnia Medico-Physica'' (''All Medical-Physical Works'') contains a collection of Ent’s works.
Ent’s nonscientific works include a range of topics. ''The Grounds of Unity in Religion'' comments on the relationship of the English government and the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, discussing the position of people of different faiths with the political and religious framework. ''The Manner of Hatching Chicken at Cairo'', on which he collaborated with
John Graves, describes a method of using heat from ovens to force eggs to hatch.
References
*Bylebyl, Jerome J. ''William Harvey and his age : the professional and social context of the discovery of the circulation''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979.
*
Debus, Allen G.
Allen George Debus (August 16, 1926 – March 6, 2009) was an American historian of science, known primarily for his work on the history of chemistry and alchemy. In 1991 he was honored at the University of Chicago with an academic conference hel ...
''Medicine in seventeenth century England; a symposium held at UCLA in honor of C. D. O'Malley''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974.
*"Ent, George." ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Vol. XVII, Ed. Leslie Stephen London: 1878. 377–78.
*“Ent, George.” ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', Vol. IV. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillispie. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. 376–377.
*Keynes, Geoffrey, Sir. ''The life of William Harvey.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966.
*
Munk, William. ''The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London''. 2d ed. rev. and enlarged. London: 1878. Volume I. 223–227.
External links
Royal Society's archive of George Ent's speeches and notes*
Sir George Ent's Commonplace BookA Roman correspondence: George Ent and Cassiano dal PozzoRoyal College of Physicians' Identity Statement on George Ent*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ent, George
1604 births
1689 deaths
English scientists
Original Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
People from Sandwich, Kent
Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians