George Motherby facts for kids
George Motherby (born around 1731, died 1793) was an English doctor and writer about medicine. He is famous for being one of the first people to define the medical word placebo in his dictionary, which came out in 1785.
Early Life and Education
George Motherby was born in Yorkshire, England. His father was also named George Motherby, and his mother was Anne Hotham. He had a younger brother, Robert, and an older sister, Anne. Anne later married a bookseller named George Robinson.
Motherby studied medicine and earned his M.D. degree in 1767. He received this degree from King's College, Aberdeen, which is a university in Scotland.
Medical Career and Practice
After finishing his studies, Dr. Motherby worked as a physician in Königsberg. This city was part of the Kingdom of Prussia at the time. While living there, he became friends with a famous writer named Johann Georg Hamann. This friendship happened thanks to George's brother, Robert.
Dr. Motherby even gave one of Hamann's sons a vaccination. Vaccinations help protect people from diseases. Later in his life, Dr. Motherby moved back to England. He practiced medicine in Highgate, Middlesex. He passed away in July 1793 in Beverley, Yorkshire.
His Important Medical Dictionary
Dr. Motherby is best known for writing A new Medical Dictionary. The first edition of this important book was published in London in 1775. A second, updated edition came out in 1785. This 1785 edition is special because it included an early definition of the term placebo. A placebo is something that looks like medicine but has no active ingredients. It's often used in studies to see if a real medicine works.
Other versions of his dictionary were published later. These were updated by another doctor named George Wallis. These later editions came out in 1791, 1795, and 1801. The last two editions were so big they were split into two volumes. Dr. Motherby's dictionary was well-researched. It included references to many other medical experts and their writings.
