William Pargeter (1760–1810) was an eighteenth-century

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 ...

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 ...

with an interest in

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. Like his contemporaries,

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

(1742–1816), Thomas Sutton (1767–1835), and

John Haslam Sir John Haslam (27 February 1878 – 21 May 1940) was a Conservative Party politician in England. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly ...

(1764–1844), he wrote a book on the subject titled ''Observations on Maniacal Disorders'' (1792). Pargeter was born in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, the son and grandson of clergymen. He entered

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1777, and received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from New College in 1781. He was encouraged to study medicine by

Martin Wall Martin Wall FRS FRCP (1747– 21 Jun 1824), was an English physician and educator. Wall was the son of John Wall and was baptised at Worcester on 24 June 1747. He was educated at Winchester College, and entered at New College, Oxford, on 21 No ...

, the Lichfield Professor of Clinical Medicine at Oxford University. Pargeter entered St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1783. In 1786, he received his Medicinae Doctor (M.D.) from

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

in Aberdeen. Pargeter remained in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for another year and then moved to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

where he practiced medicine until 1795. In that year he also took Holy Orders and entered the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as a chaplain, serving in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He retired from the Navy on a pension in 1802 and retired to

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. He died in 1810. Pargeter stated in the preface of his book that he followed the ideas of Dr

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

(1710–1790), a professor at the

Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...

in Scotland. He quoted Cullen’s nosology of

mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together wit ...

and the relationship between mania and

melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly dep ...

, and described the symptoms of each with Cullen’s terms of "excitement" and "collapse" of the brain. Pargeter wrote that the cause of

madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

is a mystery and "wonderful are the works of the Lord and His ways past finding out."''Observations on Maniacal Disorders'', p. 25 He advanced his own ideas (based on cases he and others had studied) observing how various "passions" may be responsible, such as grief, despair, intense study, and application of the mind; as well as poisons such as

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

and

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. He inveighed against private madhouses run by non-physicians and non-clergymen for profit. Pargeter believed that patients were abused in these houses. He also commented on the popular idea that lunacy was influenced by phases of the moon. He often quoted poetry by Milton, Cowper, and others to describe melancholia in his patients. Pargeter was convinced that the treatment of insanity must be based on management rather than on medicine. He quoted the importance of "catching the eye" of the insane person as means of obtaining the patient’s attention so that the physician could control the patient’s behavior. He described this method in four case reports. He also discussed the usual medical treatments of the time including bleeding, cupping,

purging A purge is the forcible removal of undesirable people from political activity, etc. Purge or The Purge may also refer to: * Purge (occupied Japan), the forcible removal of undesirable Japanese from public service during occupation of Japan * G ...

, hot and cold applications, as well as the use of medicines as

camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...

and

hyoscyamine Hyoscyamine (also known as daturine or duboisine) is a naturally occurring tropane alkaloid and plant toxin. It is a secondary metabolite found in certain plants of the family Solanaceae, including henbane, mandrake, angel's trumpets, jimsonweed ...

Works

*Pargeter, William.
Observations on Maniacal Disorders
'. Reading: Printed for the author, and sold by Smart and Cowslade; J. Murray, London; and J. Fletcher, Oxford,

792 __NOTOC__ Year 792 ( DCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 792 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...

Bibliography

*Andrews, Jonathan, et al. ''The History of Bethlem''. London; New York: Routledge, 1997. *Hunter, Richard A., and Ida Macalpine. ''Three Hundred Years of Psychiatry, 1535-1860: A History Presented in Selected English Texts''. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1963. *Parry-Jones, William LI. ''The Trade in Lunacy: A Study of Private Madhouses in England in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972. *Porter, Roy. ''Madness: A Brief History''. Oxford; New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002. *Scull, Andrew T. ''The Most Solitary of Afflictions: Madness and Society in Britain, 1700-1900''. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pargeter, William 18th-century English medical doctors 1810 deaths 1760 births People from Hertfordshire Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of New College, Oxford People involved with mental health People from Northamptonshire (before 1974)