Thomas Sydenham
English physician known as 'The English Hippocrates.'
Thomas Sydenham, an English physician born in 1624 and died in 1689, is best remembered as the author of *Observationes Medicae* (1676), a textbook that remained a standard medical reference for two centuries and earned him the nickname "The English Hippocrates." He identified the disease now called Sydenham's chorea, or St. Vitus' Dance, and is credited with the saying, "A man is as old as his arteries."
Sydenham grew up in Wynford Eagle, Dorset, the son of a landowner. His brother was Colonel William Sydenham. At eighteen, he entered Magdalen Hall, Oxford, but his studies were soon interrupted by service as an officer in the Parliamentarian army during the Civil War. He completed his bachelor of medicine in 1648 and was elected a fellow of All Souls College. He did not earn his MD until 1676, and that from Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, where his eldest son was then a student.
After 1648, Sydenham studied medicine at Oxford, citing physician Thomas Coxe—who was treating his brother—as a major influence. He returned to military service, and in 1654, he petitioned Oliver Cromwell for £600 in back pay owed to two brothers killed in action, noting his own faithful service and blood loss. In 1655, he resigned his fellowship, married Mary Gee in Wynford Eagle, and had two surviving sons, William and Henry, with a third son, James, dying young. By 1663, he had obtained a license to practice medicine in Westminster and its surrounding six miles from the College of Physicians, though this minimal qualification was his only connection to that body.
Sydenham faced distrust from some medical faculty for his innovative and plain-spoken approach. In a letter to John Mapletoft, he complained of critics who condemned anything new or unheard-of. Writing to Robert Boyle the year before his death, he noted his success in curing patients but lamented his poor relations with other physicians, who objected to his efforts to simplify and clarify practice while ignoring a mountebank at Charing Cross. Despite this, he gained support from discerning figures like Boyle and John Locke. His religious views have been described as an early form of natural theology.
Sydenham’s first book, *Methodus curandi febres* (1666), focused on curing fevers; a second edition added a chapter on plague, and a third (1676) was retitled *Observationes medicae*. In 1680, he published two *Epistolae responsoriae*: one on epidemics to Robert Brady, and another on venereal diseases to Henry Paman. A *Dissertatio epistolaris* (1682) addressed confluent smallpox and hysteria. *Tractatus de podagra et hydrope* (1683) covered arthritis and dropsy, and *Schedula monitoria de novae febris ingressu* (1686) dealt with a newly arrived fever. His final work, *Processus integri* (1692), was a pathology and practice outline, later widely reprinted. A fragment on pulmonary consumption was found among his papers. His collected Latin writings fill about 600 octavo pages.
Though a successful practitioner who saw multiple editions of his works during his lifetime, Sydenham’s reputation as the father of English medicine grew mainly after his death. He was long valued for his cooling treatment of smallpox, his development of laudanum (an opium tincture), and his promotion of Peruvian bark (containing quinine) for quartan agues (malaria). Contemporaries like Richard Morton and Thomas Browne owned his books and grasped his broader significance, but the academic medicine of his era often held him in less regard.
- born
- 10 September 1624
- died
- 29 December 1689
- field
- Medicine
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Observationes Medicae, discovery of Sydenham's chorea, dictum 'A man is as old a
Lore & Background
Thomas Sydenham was born at Wynford Eagle in Dorset, where his father was a gentleman of property. At age eighteen he attended Magdalen Hall, Oxford; after a short period his college studies appear to have been interrupted, and he served for a time as an officer in the Parliamentarian army during the Civil War. He completed his Oxford course in 1648, graduating as bachelor of medicine, and about the same time was elected a fellow of All Souls College. It was not until nearly thirty years later (1676) that he graduated as MD, not at Oxford, but at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, where his eldest son was by then an undergraduate. In 1655 he resigned his fellowship at All Souls and married Mary Gee in his home village of Wynford Eagle. They had two sons, William (c. 1660–1738) and Henry (1668?–1741); another son, James, apparently died young. In 1663 he passed the examinations of the College of Physicians for their licence to practice in Westminster and 6 miles round. His first book, Methodus curandi febres, was published in 1666; a second edition, with an additional chapter on the plague, in 1668; and a third edition, further enlarged and bearing the better-known title of Observationes medicae, in 1676. His next publication was in 1680 in the form of two Epistolae responsoriae, the one 'On Epidemics' addressed to Robert Brady, and the other 'On the Lues venerea' to Henry Paman. In 1682 he published another Dissertatio epistolaris on the treatment of confluent smallpox and on hysteria, addressed to Dr William Cole. The Tractatus de podagra et hydrope came out in 1683, and the Schedula monitoria de novae febris ingressu in 1686. His last completed work, Processus integri, is an outline sketch of pathology and practice; twenty copies of it were printed in 1692. He seems to have been distrusted by some members of the faculty because he was an innovator and something of a plain-dealer. He attracted to his support some of the most discriminating men of his time, such as Boyle and John Locke. His religious views have been described as an early form of natural theology.
Reader's Guide
Sydenham's fame as the father of English medicine, or the English Hippocrates, was posthumous. For a long time he was held in vague esteem for the success of his cooling treatment of smallpox, for his laudanum (the first form of a tincture of opium), and for his advocacy of the use of 'Peruvian bark' in 'quartan agues' (quinine-containing cinchona bark for treatment of malaria caused by Plasmodium malariae). But his larger importance was that he inaugurated a new method and a better ethics of practice. He did the best he could for his patients, and made as little as possible of the mysteries and traditional dogmas of the craft. He advised Sir Richard Blackmore to read Don Quixote, saying 'it is a very good book; I read it still.' There were cases, he tells us, where 'I have consulted my patients' safety and my own reputation most effectually by doing nothing at all.' In 1679, Sydenham gave Whooping cough the name pertussis. A zealous Puritan, 'he rejected on religious grounds attempts such as pathological anatomy and microscopic analysis to uncover the hidden causes of disease,' arguing that 'God only gave man the ability to perceive the outer nature of things with his senses.' Herman Boerhaave, the Leyden professor, spoke of him as 'Angliae lumen, artis Phoebum, veram Hippocratici viri speciem' ('The light of England, the skill of Apollo, the true face of Hippocrates'). Albrecht von Haller also marked one of the epochs in his scheme of medical progress with the name of Sydenham.
Did You Know?
- Sydenham served as an officer in the Parliamentarian army during the Civil War and received £600 in 1654 after petitioning Oliver Cromwell for arrears due to his two killed brothers.
- His first book, Methodus curandi febres, was published in 1666; a third edition became the better-known Observationes medicae in 1676.
- He gave whooping cough the name pertussis in 1679.
- He advised Sir Richard Blackmore to read Don Quixote as a medical text, saying 'it is a very good book; I read it still.'
- Only twenty copies of his last work, Processus integri, were printed in 1692.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Thomas Sydenham?
Thomas Sydenham was an English physician (1624–1689) widely regarded as one of the most influential doctors of the 17th century. He is commonly nicknamed 'The English Hippocrates' because of his outsized impact on how medicine was practiced for generations after his death.
What is Thomas Sydenham most famous for?
His 1676 treatise Observationes Medicae went on to serve as a standard medical textbook for roughly two hundred years. He is also credited with first clearly describing the neurological disorder now known as Sydenham's chorea.
What is Sydenham's chorea?
Sydenham's chorea, historically called St. Vitus' Dance, is a neurological condition marked by involuntary, jerky movements. It was identified and described by Thomas Sydenham and continues to bear his name in medical literature.
What does the saying 'A man is as old as his arteries' mean?
This well-known dictum, attributed to Sydenham, argues that a person's true biological age is better judged by the state of their blood vessels than by their birth year. It reflects his view that vascular health is a central indicator of overall bodily condition.
Why is Thomas Sydenham called 'The English Hippocrates'?
The epithet highlights that his clinical writings shaped medical practice across Europe for about two centuries, paralleling the foundational role Hippocrates played in ancient Greek medicine. His Observationes Medicae became the default reference text for physicians long after his death in 1689.
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