William Harvey was a famous doctor and scientist who discovered the circulation of the blood.
He was born in Folkestone in 1578.
This is the bronze pestle and mortar he used to grind up ingredients for his medicines. It was made by Michael Burgehuys in 1625.
Patients included King James I for whom he was Physician Extraordinary. Harvey had his work cut out. The king suffered from extremes of mood, slept poorly, suffered from arthritis, nephritis, jaundice, flatulence, catarrh, haemorrhoids and frequent diarrhoea. He ate rich food, drank too much and had bad teeth.
Fascinating fact
Harvey’s work on the circulation of blood Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings) was published in 1628, and dedicated to King Charles I.
