Daniel Whistler (1619–1684) was an English physician.

Life

The son of William Whistler of Elvington,

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 was born at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1619. He was educated at the school of

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

, and entered

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, in January 1639. He graduated B.A. in 1642. On 8 August 1642 he began the study of physic at the

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

, where he graduated M.D. on 19 October 1645, having in the interval returned to Oxford to take his M.A. degree (8 February 1644). He was incorporated M.D. at Oxford on 20 May 1647, 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 13 December 1649. On 13 June 1648 he was elected

Gresham Professor of Geometry The Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1597, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to ten and in addition the ...

, and was at the same time Linacre reader at Oxford. In 1653, during the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

, Whistler was assisted by

Elizabeth Alkin Elizabeth Alkin ( 1600 – 1655) was a publisher, nurse and spy for the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War. Among the many derogatory names she was called by royalist sympathisers, that of Parliament Joan is one by which she is ...

in setting up a network of casualty reception stations in Portsmouth and East Anglia. The stations treated both English and Dutch casualties. In October 1653 was asked to accompany

Bulstrode Whitelocke Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and Elizabeth Bulstrode, and was ...

to Sweden; his first case was a broken arm, and his next a broken leg, and he himself set both. He spoke Latin and French, and wrote Latin verses on the abdication of Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

, which are printed in the ''Journal of the Swedish Embassy''. In July 1654 he returned to London. At the College of Physicians he 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 1659, was twelve times censor, registrar from 1674 to 1682, treasurer in 1682, and in 1683 president. He married in 1657, and died on 11 May 1684, while president, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, and was buried in Christ Church, Newgate Street. His house was in the college in Warwick Lane. He was thought agreeable by

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

, who often dined and supped with him. They walked together to view the ravages of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

of 1666.

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

also liked his conversation. He was negligent as registrar, and as president of the College of Physicians took little care of its property.

Works

His inaugural dissertation at Leyden, read 18 October 1645, ''De Morbo puerili Anglorum, quern patrio idiomate indigense vocant "The Rickets," is his only published work, and is the first printed book on

rickets Rickets is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children, and is caused by either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large forehead, and trouble sleeping. Complications may ...

. He reprinted it in 1684. The disease was at that time the subject of much active observation by

Francis Glisson Francis Glisson (1597 – 14 October 1677Guido Giglioni'Glisson, Francis (1599?–1677)' ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006, accessed 31 December 2008) was a British physicia ...

, and a committee, seven in number, of the College of Physicians which worked with him had made the subject well known, though Glisson's elaborate ''Tractatus de Rachitide'' did not appear till 1650. Whistler's thesis contains no original observations, but many hypotheses and reports of the views of others who are not named. It is clearly based on the current discussion, and takes nothing from the originality of Glisson's work. He proposes the name 'Paedossplanchnosteocaces' for the disease, but no subsequent writer has used the word.

References

Sources

External links

''Royal College of Physicians'' page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whistler, Daniel 1619 births 1684 deaths 17th-century English medical doctors Original Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Leiden University alumni People from Walthamstow