Joseph Browne ( fl. 1706), 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 ...

, generally described as a

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include '' ...

and hack writer.

Life

He has been identified with a Joseph Browne of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, who proceeded M.B. 1695; he assumed the title M.D. In 1706 he was twice convicted for libelling Queen Anne's administration. The first of these occasions, when he was fined forty marks and ordered to stand in the pillory, was for the publication of ''The Country Parson's Honest Advice to that judicious and worthy Minister of State my Lord Keeper.'' In a letter addressed to Secretary Robert Harley, 'occasioned by his late commitment to Newgate,' he denies the authorship of this pamphlet, of which at the same time he gives an explanation. He also speaks of Harley as having 'not only treated him like a patriot, but given him friendly advice.' He was again fined forty marks and ordered to stand in the pillory twice.

Works

He was an industrious writer with an obscure and rambling style. He wrote and lectured against

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 propert ...

's theory of the circulation of the blood, and he continued '' The Examiner'' after it had been dropped by

Delarivier Manley Delarivier "Delia" Manley (1663 or c. 1670 – 24 July 1724) was an English author, playwright, and political pamphleteer. Manley is sometimes referred to, with Aphra Behn and Eliza Haywood, as one of " the fair triumvirate of wit", which is a ...

, who had succeeded

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

. He sought patronage, and was bold and importunate. His 'Modern Practice of Physick vindicated' (two parts, 1703-4) is dedicated to the

Duke of Leeds Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded as ...

without permission. He dedicated his 'Lecture of Anatomy against the Circulation of the Blood' (1701) to 'His Excellency Heer Vrybergen, Envoy Extraordinary from the States-General.' His 'Practical Treatise of the Plague' (1720) has a prefatory epistle to

Richard Mead Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, and his last known publication, also on the plague, was addressed to the president and members 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 ...

, with which he was not affiliated. Beyond the date of this publication (1721) there is no trace of him. Browne produced an edition of the Latin casebooks of

Théodore de Mayerne Sir Théodore Turquet de Mayerne (28 September 1573 – 22 March 1655) was a Genevan-born physician who treated kings of France and England and advanced the theories of Paracelsus. The Young Doctor Mayerne was born in a Huguenot family in Gen ...

which includes details of medical treatments given to several courtiers, documents concerning the final illness of Prince Henry, and a journal of his consultations with

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

and

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

. The edition is some respects unreliable with misleading punctuation.Brian Nance, ''Turquet de Mayerne as Baroque Physician: The Art of Medical Portraiture'' (Amsterdam, 2001), p. 35.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Joseph Year of birth missing 18th-century English medical doctors English writers 18th-century deaths 18th-century English male writers