Thomas Percival

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Thomas Percival (born September 29, 1740 in Warrington , † August 30, 1804 in Manchester ) was an English doctor and author of the first guideline on medical ethics .

Life

Thomas Percival was born on September 29, 1740 in Warrington, Lancashire . Since he was already at the age of three years for orphans was an older sister took over the education. After visiting the school Percival went to Edinburgh to Medicine study. On July 6, 1765 he was appointed MD at the University of Leiden , shortly thereafter to become a member of the Royal Society .

After practicing a short time in Warrington as a doctor, he moved to Manchester in 1767 , where he would stay for the rest of his life. The conditions in the working-class neighborhoods there prompted him to write several papers on the subject of public health care (see below). As a supporter of a utilitarian worldview, he advocated health care that should reach as many as possible, and advocated its implementation in Manchester. In 1787 he was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh and in 1789 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

With his work "Medical Ethics " he is regarded as the founder of modern medical ethics, a term that he introduced and coined. From his work and using numerous passages of his text, the American Medical Association derived its first Code of Ethics in 1847, when it was founded .

Thomas Percival died in Manchester on August 30, 1804 and was later buried in Warrington .

Most important works

  • Essays, Medical and Experimental (1767), 2nd edition (1772) (digitized)
  • Internal Regulation of Hospitals (1771)
  • A Scheme of Professional Conduct Relative to Hospitals and other Medical Charities (1772)
  • Essays, Medical, Philosophical and Experimental. T. Lowndes, London 1770-1773, Volume I (1770) (digitized) ; Volume II (1773) (digitized version)
  • A Father's Instruction (three-volume 1775–1800)
  • Medical ethics; or, a code of institutes and precepts, adapted to the professional conduct of physicians and surgeons. Manchester: S. Russell, 1803 (digitized)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed March 29, 2020 .
  2. ^ Karl-Heinz Leven: The doctor: a "servant of art" . Deutsches Ärzteblatt 2018, Volume 115, Issue 24 of June 15, 2018, Pages A1164-1167
personal data
SURNAME Percival, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English doctor, author of the first guideline on medical ethics
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1740
PLACE OF BIRTH Warrington
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1804
Place of death Manchester