Martin Wall FRS FRCP (1747– 21 Jun 1824), was an English physician and educator. Wall was the son of

John Wall Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. (born September 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Raleigh, North Carolina native, Wall was chosen with the List of firs ...

and was baptised at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

on 24 June 1747. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, and entered at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, on 21 November 1763. He graduated B.A. on 17 June 1770, M.A. on 2 July 1771, M.D. on 9 June 1773, and was a fellow of his college from 1763 to 1778. He studied medicine at

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, London, and in Edinburgh. Wall moved back to Oxford to start a practice in 1774, and on 2 November 1775 was elected physician to the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

. He was appointed reader in chemistry in 1781, and delivered an

inaugural dissertation A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

on the study of chemistry on 7 May 1781, which he printed in 1783, with an essay on the 'Antiquity and Use of Symbols in Astronomy and Chemistry' and 'Observations on the Diseases prevalent in the South Sea Islands'. He drank tea with

Dr Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

at Oxford in June 1784, and his essay was obviously the origin of the conversation on the advantage of physicians travelling among barbarous nations.Boswell, ''Life'', 1791, ii., p. 502 In 1785 Wall was elected Lichfield Professor of Clinical Medicine at Oxford, an office which he retained till his death. He edited his father's essays in 1780, and in 1786 published ''Clinical Observations on the Use of Opium in Low Fevers, with Remarks on the Epidemic Fever at Oxford in 1785''. The epidemic was typhus. 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 25 June 1787, delivered their

Harveian Oration The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...

in 1788, and in the same year 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 ...

. He died on 21 June 1824.

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

speaks of him as 'this learned, ingenious, and pleasing gentleman.' Wall was married with a son, Martin Sandys Wall (1785–1871), chaplain in ordinary to the

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

and to the British embassy at Vienna.

References

;Secondary source * 1747 births 1824 deaths Medical doctors from Worcester, England Alumni of New College, Oxford 18th-century English medical doctors Fellows of New College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society {{England-med-bio-stub