James Lind
4 October 1716 – 13 July 1794
James Lind was a Scottish naval physician who conducted one of the first recorded controlled clinical trials, showing in 1747 that citrus fruit cured scurvy among sailors. His Treatise of the Scurvy and his work on naval hygiene laid the foundations of preventive medicine in the Royal Navy. He later served for a quarter century as chief physician of the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar.
Lived at the same time
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Life events
James Lind was born in Edinburgh into a family of merchants, the son of James Lind and Margaret Smelholme.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAt fifteen, Lind began his medical training as an apprentice to George Langlands, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLind joined the navy as a surgeon's mate, serving in the Mediterranean, off West Africa, and in the West Indies.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAs surgeon of HMS Salisbury, Lind divided twelve scorbutic sailors into six pairs given different treatments and found that the pair given oranges and lemons recovered fastest, one of the first controlled clinical trials in medicine.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAfter leaving the navy, Lind took his medical degree at Edinburgh and began practising as a physician in the city.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLind published his treatise on the nature, causes, and cure of scurvy, dedicating it to Lord Anson, whose circumnavigation had lost most of its crews to the disease.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLind's essay on naval hygiene proposed practical measures, including shipboard cleanliness and supplies of fresh provisions, to protect the health of sailors.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLind became chief physician of the great naval hospital at Haslar near Portsmouth, then one of the largest hospitals in Europe, serving until 1783 when his son succeeded him.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAmong his contributions to naval health, Lind investigated obtaining fresh drinking water by distilling seawater.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLind died at Gosport in 1794, a year before the Admiralty finally adopted lemon juice as a routine issue for the fleet, which virtually eliminated scurvy from the Royal Navy.
Source: en.wikipedia.org