Edward Milward facts for kids

Edward Milward (born around 1712, died 1757) was an English doctor and a historian who studied the history of medicine. He lived during a time when doctors were learning many new things about the human body and how to treat illnesses.

Edward Milward: A Doctor and Medical Historian

Early Life and Education

Edward Milward was likely born in 1712 in a place called Lindridge, in Worcestershire, England. His family lived there. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, which is a famous university. However, he left before he finished his degree there. Instead, he earned his medical doctor (M.D.) degree from a university in another country.

His Medical Career

By 1733, Milward was working as a doctor in London. He first lived in Queen's Square, near Ormond Street, and later moved to Portugal Row, close to Lincoln's Inn Fields. During this time, he supported Edmund Chapman, who wrote books about helping women give birth.

On July 7, 1741, he officially became an M.D. at Cambridge University, even though he hadn't finished his first degree there. This was a special honor given by the King. Later, on September 30, 1747, he became a "licentiate" of the College of Physicians. This meant he was allowed to practice medicine. A year later, he became a "fellow" of the College, which is a higher honor. In 1752, he was a "censor," meaning he helped make sure other doctors followed the rules. In the same year, he gave a special speech called the Harveian oration. On January 21, 1742, he also became a Fellow of the Royal Society, a very important group for scientists.

Milward later moved to Worcester, where he passed away on August 26, 1757. He was buried in the Knighton Chapel in Lindridge, with other members of his family. His tombstone says he was 45 years old when he died.

What He Wrote

Edward Milward was very interested in the writings of old doctors from ancient Greece and Rome. His most important work was an essay about Alexander Trallianus, a Greek doctor who lived in the 500s. Milward planned for this essay to be the start of a new, updated version of Alexander's medical writings.

He also had another big idea, which he wrote about in his Letter to Learned Men. He wanted to write a complete history of all the British writers who had worked in medicine and surgery. He even bought some old papers from a bookseller named Edmund Curll to help him with this project. He mentioned this idea again in another book, but sadly, this history was never published. He also planned to write a book about a serious medical condition called gangrene, but this was also never published.

Here are the books he did publish:

• The Essay on Trallianus, which came out with slightly different titles in 1733 and 1734.
• A Circular Invitatory Letter to all Orders of Learned Men … concerning an Attempt towards an History of the Lives, etc., of the most celebrated British Physical and Chirurgical Writers, published in London in 1740. This was the letter where he asked for help with his history project.
• Oratio Harvæana, which was the speech he gave in 1752, published in London in 1753.

Milward also helped prepare and publish a book by another doctor, James Drake. This book was called Jacobi Drakei Orationes tres de febre intermittente and was published in London in 1742.