Sir Edward Greaves, 1st Baronet (1608 – 11 November 1680), was an English physician. Greaves was the son of John Greaves, rector of

Colemore Colemore is a hamlet and former village in the Hampshire Downs about northwest of Petersfield. It was united with Priors Dean to form the civil parish of Colemore and Priors Dean in 1932. Colemore is a largely abandoned village. There were ho ...

, Hampshire. He was born at

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, Surrey, in 1608. His brothers were

John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a number of old ...

, Nicholas Greaves and Thomas Greaves. He studied at

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 ...

, and was elected a fellow of

All Souls' College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically b ...

in 1634. After this he studied medicine at

Padua University The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...

, where in 1636 he wrote some complimentary Latin verses to Sir

George Ent George Ent (6 November 1604 – 13 October 1689) was an English scientist in the seventeenth century. Biography Ent was born on 6 November 1604 in Sandwich, Kent. He was the son of a Belgian immigrant, Josias Ent (sometimes called John Ent) ...

on his graduation, and returning to Oxford graduated M.B. 18 July 1640, M.D. 8 July 1641. In 1642 he continued his medical studies at the

university of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, and on his return practised physic at Oxford, where, 14 November 1643, he was appointed Linacre superior reader of physic. In the same year he published' Morbus epidemicus Anni 1643, or the New Disease with the Signes, Causes, Remedies,' &c, an account of a mild form of

typhus fever Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

, which was an epidemic at Oxford in that year, especially in the houses where sick and wounded soldiers were quartered.

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

is supposed to have created him a

baronet 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 ...

4 May 1645. Of this creation, the first of a physician to that rank, no record exists, but the accurate Le Neve did not doubt the fact, and explained the absence of enrolment.Letter of Le Neve in "Life of John Graves" in Smith, Thomas (1707)
''Vita quorundam eruditissimorum virorum''
(in Latin) London: David Mortier, at the sign of Erasmus. Google Books full view, retrieved 10 May 2011 He claimed to have been Physician-General to the army of

.The National Archives, E 112/536/62, answer. With his friend

Walter Charleton Walter Charleton (2 February 1619 – 24 April 1707) was a natural philosopher and English writer. According to Jon Parkin, he was "the main conduit for the transmission of Epicurean ideas to England".Jon Parkin, ''Science, Religion and Politics ...

, Greaves became travelling physician to Charles II, but settled in London in 1653, and was admitted 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 ...

18 October 1657. 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 ...

at the College of Physicians 25 July 1661 (London, 1667, 4to), of which the original manuscript is in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Sloane MS 302). He says that before Harvey the source of the circulation was as unknown as that of the Nile, and compares England to a heart, whence the knowledge of the circulation was driven forth to other lands. He became physician in ordinary to Charles II, and owned the lands of

St Leonard's Forest St Leonard's Forest is at the western end of the Wealden Forest Ridge which runs from Horsham to Tonbridge, and is part of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies on the ridge to the south of the A264 between Horsham and Crawle ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, including that part which became

Leonardslee Leonardslee is an English country house and English landscape garden and woodland garden in Lower Beeding, near Horsham, West Sussex, England. The Grade I listed garden is particularly significant for its spring displays of rhododendrons, azal ...

. He married Alicia Nevett (1624–1684), widow of Peter Calf (d. 1668). Greaves lived in Covent Garden, died there 11 Nov. 1680, and was buried in the church of St. Paul's, Covent Garden.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, Edward 1608 births 1680 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England 17th-century English medical doctors 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers Alumni of the University of Oxford English medical writers Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Leiden University alumni People from Croydon University of Padua alumni Physicians-in-Ordinary People from East Hampshire District