The “father of scientific surgery”
Portrait of 18th-century British surgeon John Hunter, detail of an oil painting by J. Jackson after Sir Joshua Reynolds; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
John Hunter
British surgeon
John Hunter (born Feb. 13, 1728, Long Calderwood, Lanarkshire, Scot.—died Oct. 16, 1793, London, Eng.) was a surgeon, founder of pathological anatomy in England, and early advocate of investigation and experimentation. He also carried out many important studies and experiments in comparative aspects of biology, anatomy, physiology, and pathology. Hunter never completed a course of studies in any university, and, as was common for surgeons during the 18th century, he never attempted to become a...