Richard Richardson to Hans Sloane – September 2, 1730
Item info
Date: September 2, 1730 Author: Richard Richardson Recipient: Hans SloaneLibrary: British Library, London Manuscript: Sloane MS 4051 Folio: ff. 91-92
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Language
English
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Library
British Library, London
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Categories
Collections, Medical, Scholarship, Scientific, Social
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Subjects
Books, Cattle, Chelsea Physic Garden, Environmental Degradation, Epidemics, Medicines, Mineral Waters, Recipes, Smallpox
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Date (as written)
September 2, 1730
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Standardised date
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Origin (as written)
North Bierley
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Others mentioned
Philip Miller
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Patients mentioned
Horton (Son of William Horton)
Original Page
Transcription
Richardson thanks Sloane for the books and mentions several he would like to procure. He has received no word from Mr Miller, though he was told that Chelsea Physic Garden is thriving. Richardson has compiled a list of all plants growing above ground. He will send the list to Mr Miller. Richardson discusses the contamination of water in Halifax and the means employed to cure the cattle who got sick drinking it. He relays the recipe for the medicine that was used. Smallpox is becoming a problem. Richardson was a physician and botanist who traveled widely in England, Wales, and Scotland in search of rare specimens. He corresponded and exchanged plants with many well-known botanists and naturalists (W. P. Courtney, Richardson, Richard (16631741), rev. Peter Davis, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2010 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23576, accessed 31 May 2011]).
Patient Details
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Patient info
Name: Mr. Horton (Son of William Horton)
Gender:
Age: -
Description
The child's symptoms are 'favourable'.
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Diagnosis
Smallpox.
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Treatment
Previous Treatment:
Purged a few times. Dr Nettleton and Richardson treated the child.
Ongoing Treatment:
Response:Shortly after being treated Horton's symptoms worsened for a few days and two weeks later he was in a bad way. His hands twitched and gripings developed in his feet. The boy died on the fifteenth day.
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More information
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Medical problem reference
Death, Smallpox, Unspecified