William Salmon facts for kids
William Salmon (1644–1713) was an English doctor and writer of medical books. He called himself a "Professor of Physick". Salmon was a bit controversial in the medical world. He supported apothecaries (like pharmacists today) against doctors who wanted to control all medicine sales. Because of this, some doctors called him "the King of the Quacks" (meaning someone who pretends to have medical skills). He was known for being great at promoting himself.
Salmon created popular books by "copying, translating, shortening, adding to, and combining from other texts." His books focused on practical advice rather than just theories. He often used his books to sell his own medicines. Salmon wrote many books on different medical topics, and they were very popular in his time. Even famous people like Isaac Newton and Daniel Defoe owned his books.
William Salmon's Life
William Salmon was born on June 2, 1644. We don't know much about his childhood or how he was educated. Some people thought he might have traveled to New England or the West Indies. There was a rumor that his first teacher was a traveling trickster. Salmon supposedly got his first medical supplies from this person.
Salmon started his business near St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. This allowed him to help patients who couldn't get treatment at the hospital. He treated illnesses, made and sold medicines, and even studied alchemy (an old form of chemistry). These were all common medical practices back then. Over the years, he moved his home and business several times around London.
Salmon's books are full of observations about his patients. However, it's hard to know exactly what his own medical practice was like. This is because he used so much information from other writers. Still, his books show that he focused on Medicina practica, which means "Practical Physick." He suggested herbal remedies, like a lavender tincture for "hysterick fits" (a term for certain nervous conditions). He also described senile dementia (memory loss in older people) carefully. He noted that a patient was "not mad," but rather "decayed in his wits." He also linked depression to the early signs of aging.
Salmon made his own special medicines, including pills, powders, and liquids. He heavily advertised these products in his published books.
People had different opinions about Salmon's writing style. He mixed old medical ideas with newer chemistry and philosophy. Some thought this mix was fine and good for advertising. They described him as "modern, traditionally learned, and commercially minded." Others thought his writing was "absurd" or silly.
Salmon actively fought against others who tried to use his name to sell their own products. He also joined other apothecaries to stop the Royal College of Physicians from taking "all the practise of Physick into their own hands." This was a big fight between doctors and apothecaries over who could control medical training and practice. Salmon was seen as a reformer in this argument.
Because of these disagreements, Salmon became a target for jokes and criticism. Other medical writers made fun of him in pamphlets and poems. For example, a surgeon named James Yonge wrote a pamphlet criticizing Salmon's writings. Salmon was also mentioned in a famous poem called "The Dispensary."
Salmon likely earned a lot of money from his medical practice, selling medicines, and his books. He collected a large library and owned scientific tools like microscopes. People believed he was very knowledgeable and had a wide range of interests. He also owned interesting items from the West Indies and paintings, showing he was quite wealthy.
He attended meetings of a religious group in London. It's possible this group was connected to the Society of Friends (Quakers). He even published a book supporting the Quakers in 1674. During a time of religious tension (1687-1690), Salmon may have left England to travel in New England and the Caribbean.
After returning, he wrote books about baptism and transubstantiation (religious topics).
Salmon's books often included portraits of him. These portraits sometimes had different details in different editions. Several artists, including Robert White and William Sherwin, created portraits of William Salmon.
William Salmon's Books
Salmon wrote about many different subjects, including medicines, surgery, alchemy, astrology, cooking, and art. He was able to publish so many books because he often "copied, translated, shortened, added to, and combined from the texts of others." Salmon admitted that he used a lot of material from other authors. He said he had "scrutinized the best Authors" and was "very much beholden" to many of them. He listed many medical and scientific writers. However, he was criticized for not always saying exactly where he got specific information.
Instead of picking one medical idea to follow, Salmon tried to include "a compendium of everything." His books often grew bigger with each new edition. For example, the 1701 edition of Polygraphice was almost three times longer than the first one.
In 1671, Salmon published Synopsis Medicinæ, or a Compendium of Astrological, Galenical, and Chymical Physick. This book covered different types of medicine. It was very popular and had several editions.
In 1672, Salmon released Polygraphice, the Art of Drawing, Engraving, Etching, Limning, Painting, Washing, Varnishing, Colouring, and Dyeing. This book focused on practical art skills. Later editions added more topics like cosmetics, chiromancy (palm reading), and even more science.
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Polygraphice, Plate IV (facial features)
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Polygraphice, Plate XIV, portraits of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza
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Polygraphice, Plate XXII (chiromantic right hand)
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Plate XVII (landscape)
Polygraphice was probably Salmon's most successful book. It had eight editions and sold 15,000 copies by 1701. It remained popular as an art guide for a long time. This book helped spread visual knowledge and made art more popular. It was read by many people, including middle and upper-class women, not just artists.
In 1678, Salmon published Pharmacopœia Londinensis. Or, the New London Dispensatory. This six-volume work claimed to cover "the whole Art of Healing" and gave practical advice in English.
Salmon also wrote books about astrology, like Horæ Mathematicæ seu Urania – The Soul of Astrology (1679). He published Iatrica, seu, Praxis medendi, The practice of curing (1681), which included thousands of observations on curing diseases.
From 1684, Salmon started publishing yearly almanacs. These almanacs often included a different illness each month with suggested treatments. They also advertised his medicines and complained about his rivals.
In 1689, he published The anatomy of human bodies, which was a translation of a book by Isbrand van Diemerbroeck.
His book Medicina Practica, with the Claris Alcymiae (1692) was also very important.
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Medicina Practica, Main title page, 1692
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Frontispiece, William Salmon by William Sherwin, 1671
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Book II title page
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Book II, Plate I, Geber's furnaces
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Book II, Plate III, Geber's furnaces
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Book III, Artephius
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Book III, Rogerii Bachonis Radix Mundi
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Book III, Plate I, Flammel's Hieroglyphicks
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Book III, Plate III, Flammel's Hieroglyphicks
In 1693, Salmon published Seplasium. The compleat English physician : or, The druggist's shop opened.
He also translated Pharmacopoeia Bateana: Or Bate's Dispensatory by court physician George Bate in 1694. This book had several editions.
In 1696, Salmon published The family-dictionary, or, Household companion. This book was about cooking and home remedies. It included recipes like snail broth for consumption and spiced spirits to protect the lungs. It was meant for "Ladies, Gentlewomen, and other such Persons whose Station requires their taking care of a House."
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Doron medicum : or, A supplement to the New London dispensatory, 1688
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Seplasium. The compleat English physician : or, The druggist's shop opened, 1693
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The family-dictionary : or, Household companion, 1705
In 1698, Salmon published a book on surgery called Ars chirurgica: a Compendium of the Theory and Practice of Chirurgery. Around this time, he became involved in a big debate. The Royal College of Physicians wanted to open dispensaries (places to get medicine) that offered free treatment to poor people. This was seen as a direct challenge to apothecaries like Salmon.
Salmon wrote a book called A rebuke to the authors of a blew-book... (1698) to defend the apothecaries.
In 1707, he translated a Latin medical book by Dr. Thomas Sydenham into English. He called it Praxis Medica: The Practice of Physick.
From 1710–1711, Salmon published Botanologia; or the English Herbal (2 volumes). In this book, he mentioned his travels in North America. He made the first known reference to growing tomatoes there, in what is now the Carolinas. He also praised the potato from Virginia.
Other books by Salmon include Officina Chymica and Systema Medicinale.
