Richard Russell (medic)

Richard Russell

Richard Russell (born November 26, 1687 in Reading ; † December 21, 1759 in London ) was a British doctor who encouraged his patients to drink seawater for therapeutic purposes and to bathe in it. The thalassotherapy , which is still practiced today, largely dispenses with drinking sea water.

Early life

Richard Russell was the son of Nathaniel Russell, a surgeon and pharmacist from Lewes, Sussex who once owned Ranscomb Manor in South Malling, near Lewes, and his wife Mary. He was the oldest of seven children, his siblings were Mary (* 1689), John (* 1691), Nathaniell (* 1694), Elizabeth (* 1695/1696), Hannah (* 1699), and Charity (* 1701). His grandfather already practiced as a doctor in Lewes.

Medical career

After Russell had first acquired medical knowledge from his father, he perfected this in Leiden with Herman Boerhaave , where he received his doctorate on December 22, 1724 with a thesis on epilepsy in children.

Lewes

Russell then began practicing medicine in Lewes in 1725 . (Records show that Russell acquired an estate at Ditchling in 1742 from Thomas Godfrey, John Legas and Legas' wife Judith. Between 1758 and 1760 it was passed on to Russell's son William Russell, who took his mother's surname "Kempe", and who owned it retained until 1787. Thereafter it belonged to John Ingram and then Charles James Ingram.)

Brighton

Around 1747 Russell went to Brighton to put his theories on the medicinal properties of seawater into practice. In 1750 he published his dissertation De Tabe Glandulari sui De Usu Aquae Marinae in Latin in Morbis Glandularum , in which he recommended the use of sea water to heal enlarged lymph nodes . It was probably translated into English in 1752 as a pirated print by the Londoner W. Owen under the title Glandular Diseases, or a Dissertation on the Use of Sea Water in the Affections of the Glands ( glandular diseases or a dissertation on the use of sea water in glandular diseases ). Russell particularly recommended using the seawater near Brighton , stating that cures in seawater are superior to those in inland resorts. His ideas received widespread support in England and abroad, and although the how to use seawater cures has been hotly debated, few have contested their fundamental value. In 1755 Russell published his second work on acute and chronic glandular diseases Oeconomia natura in morbis acutis et chronicis glandularum , which he has now translated into English and published under the title The Economy of Nature in Acute and Chronical Diseases of the Glands .

Russell's efforts in seawater therapy contributed significantly to the rapidly growing popularity of a seaside vacation in the second half of the 18th century, although other social movements also played a role. He himself profited considerably from the acquisition of the previously publicly owned Old Steine ​​property in the south of the town with a view of the sea , on which he built Brighton's largest building at the time. This house was both apartment and patient accommodation. After Russell's death in 1759, Old Steine developed into the center of hip bathing life in Brighton, as it was rented out to mostly wealthy seaside holidaymakers during the season. The brother of George III stayed here . , Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn , 1779. On September 7, 1783, the then Prince Regent and later King George IV visited him there . Its continuous production, which has lasted for over 40 years, was crucial for the rapid development of the city and its transformation from the fishing village of Brighthelmston into the modern day Brighton .

In February 1752, Richard Russell was elected a member of the Royal Society .

Today the Royal Albion Hotel stands instead of Russell's house . A simple commemorative plaque for Russell on the wall of the hotel explains laconically: "If you seek his monument, look around" ( If you are looking for his monument, just look around. ).

funeral

Richard Russell died on a trip to London and was buried in the family vault in South Malling, a small, formerly independent village with a church dedicated to Saint Michael and now part of Lewes. He left three daughters and two sons, none of whom were medical professionals.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} See the website Historyscape on Nathaniel Russell Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} L. F. Salzman (Ed.): The borough of Brighton ', A History of the County of Sussex (1940). in: British History Online. Volume 7: The rape of Lewes, pp. 244–263 Archived copy ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ The British Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) states that Richard Russell was born in Reading and died there on July 5, 1771. The Gentleman's Magazine (Gent. Mag.) 1771, p. 335, is given as the source . This date differs considerably from that quoted by Salzmann, who also gives the Gentleman's Magazine as the source , albeit from 1759, p. 606. Salzmann points out that there is another Richard Russell who lived in Reims as a doctor of medicine. The DNB states that Richard Russell is said to have completed this article on January 7, 1738. Salzmann assumes that the DNB apparently confused the two doctors. There is thus a clear contradiction in terms of the date of death and the place of his burial as well as different information for the place of Russell's doctorate and medical practice. If such contradictions exist, Salzmann's information appears more reliable. These also correspond to the information provided by the Royal Society for Medicine in 1974 on the biography of Richard Russell's PMC 1645547 (free full text).
4. ^ LF Salzman (Ed.): Parishes: Ditchling ', A History of the County of Sussex (1940). British History Online. Volume 7: The rape of Lewes. P. 102–109 Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Fred Gray: Designing the Seaside: Architecture, Society and Natu re. London 2006, Reaction Books. ISBN 1-86189-274-8 [1]
6. ^ Richard Russell: A Dissertation on the Use of Sea Water in the Diseases of the Glands. Particularly The Scurvy, Jaundice, King's-Evil, Leprosy, and the Glandular Consumption . London 1860, 4th edition. The doctoral thesis is a translation by Dr. Speed's Notes on Sea Water as well as a Contribution to the Nature, Properties and Uses of all the notable mineral waters in Britain are attached. The full text is available on Google Books [2]
7. ^ Entry on Russell; Richard (1687-1759) in the Archives of the Royal Society , London
8. ↑ ^{a b} Jennifer Drury: Dr Richard Russell's house was in the Old Steine . My Brighton and Hove, 2006. [3]

Web links

• Doctor Brighton: Richard Russell and the sea water cure. In: J. Med. Biogr. 3 (1), 1995, pp. 30-33, PMID 11640004
• Communications from the Royal Society of Medicine from 1974 with a biography and portrait of Richard Russell, PMC 1645547 (free full text), accessed January 5, 2014