Richard Hale M.D. (1670–1728) was an English physician, 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 knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 1721.

Life

The eldest son of Richard Hale of New Windsor, Berkshire, he was born at

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

, Kent, in 1670. He entered

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, with his younger brother, Henry, in June 1689, where

Thomas Sykes Thomas Sykes may refer to: *Thomas Sykes (academic) (died 1705), English academic *Thomas Sykes (Mississippi politician) (fl. 1870s), American politician in Mississippi *Thomas A. Sykes (c. 1835–?), American politician in North Carolina and Tennes ...

was his tutor. He graduated B.A. on 19 May 1693, M.A. on 4 February 1695, M.B. on 11 February 1697, and M.D. on 23 June 1701. Hale first was in practice in Oxford, where his use of opiates undermined his reputation. He settled in London, and was elected a fellow of the

College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine. {{Expand list, date=February 2011 Such institutions include: * American College of Physicians * Ceylon College of Physicians * College of Phy ...

on 9 April 1716. He was three times a censor of the College. Mentored by

Edward Tyson Edward Tyson (20 January 1651 – 1 August 1708) was an English scientist and physician. He is commonly regarded as the founder of modern comparative anatomy, which compares the anatomy between species. Biography Tyson was born the son of Edward ...

, Hale succeeded him as physician to the

Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals The Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals were two charitable foundations that were independently put into the charge of the City of London. They were brought under joint administration in 1557. Bethlehem Hospital The Bethlem Royal Hospital was foun ...

(Bedlam) in 1708. As a clinician he was influenced by iatromechanics; his reputation, after his death, was for mild treatment of mental illness, for example by sedation, rather than physical restraints. He put in place a system for regulating admissions and discharges at Bethlem. Hale was married, to Frances, widow of Richard Lloyd. At the end of his life, as a private psychiatric patient, Hale attended Frances, wife of John Erskine, Earl of Mar, by that time a Jacobite exile in Paris. Frances, daughter of

Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, (c. 16655 March 1726) was an English aristocrat, the third son of Robert Pierrepont of Thoresby, Nottinghamshire, and his wife Elizabeth Evelyn (daughter of John Evelyn), and the grandson of ...

, and sister of

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, who later served a ...

who cared for her in England and brought in Hale, is now considered to have been suffering from clinical depression. This high-profile case was managed discreetly, in its aspects of lunacy and custody proceedings. Hale's judgement that Lady Mar was insane was later reversed, after his death, by

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 ...

. After caring for Lady Mar over only about two months, Hale was followed by either

Richard Tyson (1680–1750) Richard Tyson is an American actor. He is best known as Kaz in '' Hardball'' (1989–1990) as well as his film roles in '' Three O'Clock High'' (1987), '' Two Moon Junction'' (1988), ''Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), ''Bound to Vengeance'' (2015), and ...

, married to his niece Elizabeth Hale and son of Edward Tyson, or

James Monro (1680–1752) James Monro (1838 – 28 January 1920) was a lawyer who became the first Assistant Commissioner (Crime) of the London Metropolitan Police and also served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 1888 to 1890. Early career Monro was ...

who succeeded him at Bedlam.

Works

Hale delivered the

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 1724. It was published in 1725, and contains an account of the English medieval physicians.

Death and legacy

Hale died on 26 September 1728, a wealthy man. He gave the College of Physicians £500 for their library, and his arms, vert, three pheons argent, were used on its books. His nephew Thomas Tower succeeded to his estates in Buckinghamshire and Essex.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Richard 1670 births 1728 deaths 18th-century English medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society