Charles Bisset facts for kids
Charles Bisset (born 1717, died 1791) was a clever Scottish man who was both a doctor and a military engineer. This means he helped design and build things for armies, like forts. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. He worked as a surgeon in Jamaica and on a navy fleet. Later, he joined the army as an officer. He even helped report on the defenses of a place called Bergen-op-Zoom. After his military career, he became a doctor in Skelton, Yorkshire. He wrote books about building forts and about medicine.
Early Life and Studies
Charles Bisset was born in 1717 in a place called Glenalbert, near Dalguise in Scotland. His father, Thomas Bisset, was a well-known lawyer. Charles studied medicine in Edinburgh. In 1740, he became the second surgeon at a military hospital in Jamaica.
Military Adventures
After working in Jamaica, Charles Bisset served on Admiral Edward Vernon's fleet. He spent five years in the West Indies and America. He returned home in 1745 because he was not feeling well.
In May 1746, he joined the 42nd Highlanders, a Scottish army regiment. He was an ensign, which is a junior officer. He went with his regiment on a raid in France, near L'Orient, but it was not successful.
Later, he went with his regiment to the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium and Netherlands) during a war called the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1747, his regiment fought at Sandberg. Charles Bisset drew maps and reports about the defenses of a fortress called Bergen-op-Zoom. He was very brave and skilled in this duty. Because of his good work, he was made an "engineer-extraordinary" in the army's engineering team. He served well for the rest of the war.
When the war ended in 1748, Charles Bisset was put on half-pay. This meant he still got some money, but he wasn't actively serving. After this, he traveled in France. In 1751, he published a book called Theory and Construction of Fortifications, which was about how to build forts.
A Doctor Again
After his military career, Charles Bisset went back to being a doctor. He started his medical practice in a village called Skelton, near Cleveland, Yorkshire. He stayed there for the rest of his life.
When another war seemed likely in 1755, he published a book about scurvy. Scurvy is a disease caused by not getting enough vitamin C, which was common among sailors. In 1762, he published another important book called An Essay on the Medical Constitution of Great Britain. This book talked about the health of people in Britain and the diseases that appeared between 1758 and 1760. It also included information about throat infections and miliary fever, which were common at the time. This book was even translated into German.
In 1766, the University of St. Andrews gave Charles Bisset a special degree, making him a Doctor of Medicine. In the same year, he published Medical Essays and Observations. This book was also translated into German and Italian.
Charles Bisset wrote several other smaller books about medical topics. He also wrote a book about naval tactics (how to plan battles at sea) and some political essays. He even wrote a detailed manuscript about building and defending temporary forts in 1778. This manuscript is now kept in the British Library.
Some of his works are kept in important historical archives, like the Wellcome Library and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.
Later Life and Passing
Charles Bisset was described as a thin person. He had a very busy medical practice in the countryside and earned a lot of money. He passed away on June 14, 1791, in Knayton, near Thirsk. He was 74 years old. His wife, Ann, and his two daughters survived him.
