Sir Lucas Pepys, 1st Baronet (; 1742–1830) was an English physician.
Life
The son of William Pepys, a banker, and his wife Hannah, daughter of Dr. Richard Russell of
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, was born in London on 26 May 1742. He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, whence he graduated B.A. on 9 May 1764. He then studied medicine at Edinburgh, and afterwards graduated at Oxford, M.A. on 13 May 1767, M.B. on 30 April 1770, and M.D. on 14 June 1774.
Before his M.B. degree, Pepys obtained a license to practice from the University of Oxford, took a house in London, and on 10 February 1769 was elected physician to the
Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
, and held office for seven years. In the summer he used to practise at Brighton. He was elected 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 ...
on 30 September 1775, was censor in 1777, 1782, 1786, and 1796, treasurer from 1788 to 1798, and president from 1804 to 1810. In 1777 he was appointed physician-extraordinary to the king, and in 1792 physician-in-ordinary. He was created a baronet on 22 January 1784.
Pepys was elected 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 ...
in 1780.
royalsociety.org, ''Pepys; Sir; Lucas (1742–1830)''.
/ref>
Pepys attended George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
in his mental disorder of 1788–9, and in that of 1804. He was examined on the subject of the king's health by a committee of the House of Commons on 7 January 1789. He then thought it likely that the king would recover in time, and stated that he had observed signs of improvement. He attended two days a week at Kew Palace
Kew Palace is a British royal palace within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames. Originally a large complex, few elements of it survive. Dating to 1631 but built atop the undercroft of an earlier building, the main surv ...
, where the king was, from four in the afternoon till eleven the next morning, having a consultation often either with Sir George Baker or Dr. Richard Warren
Richard Warren (c. 1585c.1628) was one of the passengers on the Pilgrim ship ''Mayflower'' and a signer of the Mayflower Compact.
Early life
Richard Warren married Elizabeth Walker, at Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, on 14 April 1610. Elizabeth ...
.
In 1794 Pepys was made physician-general to the army, and was president of an army medical board, on which it was his duty to nominate all the army physicians. When so many soldiers fell ill of fever at Walcheren
Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...
, he was ordered to go there and report. As a consequence the board was abolished; but Pepys was granted a pension.
Pepys had a large practice, and after Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...
's discovery he was an active supporter of the National Vaccine Institution. His house was in Park Street, Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...
, and he died there on 17 June 1830.
He was described as a man "of great firmness and determination, but somewhat dictatorial in his manner".
Works
Pepys's only published work was the Latin preface to the ''London Pharmacopœia'' of 1809.
Family
Pepys married, on 30 October 1772, Jane Elizabeth Leslie, 12th Countess of Rothes in her own right, and widow of George Evelyn of St Clere, Kent, and had by her two sons, Charles and Henry, and a daughter, Harriet, who married William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon. He married again, on 29 June 1813, Deborah, daughter of Dr. Anthony Askew
Anthony Askew (1722–1774) was an English physician and is best known for having been a book collector
Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maint ...
and his second wife Elizabeth Holford, who survived him. Each of his sons, who took their mother's family name, succeeded to the baronetcy
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in turn.
Like her husband, Lady Rothes was a strong and determined character, who fought a lengthy legal battle against her uncle Andrew Leslie to assert her right to succeed her brother, the 11th Earl, as Countess ''suo jure
''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
''.
Notes
External links
*
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepys, Lucas
1742 births
1830 deaths
18th-century English medical doctors
Medical doctors from London
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Fellows of the Royal Society
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
19th-century English medical doctors
Physicians-in-Ordinary