James Jurin
Encyclopedia
James Jurin FRS MA FRCP MD (baptised
15 December 1684 – 29 March 1750) was an English
scientist
and physician
, particularly remembered for his early work in capillary action
and in the epidemiology
of smallpox vaccination
. He was a staunch proponent of the work of Sir Isaac Newton
and often used his gift for satire
in Newton's defence.
dyer
. His mother was John's wife Dorcas Cotesworth. He was educated at Christ's Hospital
where he won a scholarship
to Trinity College, Cambridge
, graduating
BA
in 1705, and being elected fellow the following year. Becoming the protégé of the master of Trinity, Richard Bentley
, Jurin became tutor to Mordecai Cary
, travelling with him internationally. Jurin achieved his MA
in 1709 and became headteacher of the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
. Jurin became a frequent public speaker on mathematics and the work of Sir Isaac Newton
. Jurin returned to Cambridge
in 1715 to study medicine
, becoming MD
the following year and establishing a successful practice in London and Tunbridge Wells. In 1722, he lectured on anatomy
to the Company of Surgeons. From 1725 to 1732 he worked as a physician at Guy's Hospital
, thereafter becoming a governor of the hospital. In 1724, Jurin married Mary Douglas, née Harris (died 1784), wealthy widow of Oley Douglas
, and they had five daughters and one son.
study to compare the risk
s of variolation with those from contracting the disease naturally. He studied mortality
statistics for London for the fourteen years prior to 1723 and concluded that one fourteenth of the population had died from smallpox, up to 40 percent during epidemic
s. He advertised in the Proceedings of the Royal Society
for readers to report their personal and professional experiences and received over sixty replies, most from other physicians or surgeon
s but most significantly from Thomas Nettleton
who reported his own calculations from his experience in several communities in Yorkshire
. Jurin's analysis concluded that the probability
of death
from variolation was roughly 1 in 50, while the probability of death from naturally contracted smallpox was 1 in 7 or 8. He published his results in a series of annual pamphlets, An Account of the Success of Inoculating the Small-Pox (1723–1727). His work was very influential in establishing smallpox variolation in England some seventy years before Edward Jenner introduced the more effective method of "vaccination" using cowpox material in place of human smallpox. Jurin claimed that he had given "plain Proof from Experience and Matters of Fact that the Small Pox procured by inoculation ... is far less Dangerous than the same Distemper has been for many Years in the Natural Way."
and William Whiston
at Cambridge but only came to know Newton at the Royal Society
, where Jurin was Secretary towards the end of Newton's Presidency
. Always advocating the Newtonian position, he was a keen controversialist, corresponding with Voltaire
, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
and Émilie du Châtelet
. He took an active part in defending Newton and attacking Gottfried Leibniz
in the debate over vis viva, opposing the views of Benjamin Robins
and Pietro Antonio Michelotti. Jurin fostered international observational research into weather
and meteorology
and studied the phenomenon of capillary action
, deriving the rule that the height of liquid
in a capillary tube is inversely proportional to the diameter
of the tube at the surface of the liquid only, a law sometimes known as Jurin's law
. He published on hydrodynamics and was critical of Jean and Daniel Bernoulli
's work. Jurin worked on iatrophysics
, investigating the mechanical behaviour of the heart
and the specific gravity
of blood
, debating the heart with John Keill
and Jean-Baptiste de Sénac
. He wrote an addendum (1738) On Distinct and Indistinct Vision to Robert Smith
's Opticks and engaged in a lively epistollary exchange with Robins on the topic.
published The Analyst
in which he attacked the calculus
as flawed and ultimately absurd. Between 1734 and 1742, Jurin published over three hundred pages in robust rebuttal of Berkeley, many of them employing his favourite weapon of satire
. The publications, some under the pseudonym
Philalethes Cantabrigensis, included Geometry no Friend to Infidelity, or A Defence of Sir Isaac Newton & the British Mathematicians (1734) and The Minute Mathematician, or The Freethinker no Just Thinker (1735). Berkeley quickly withdrew from the debate and Jurin turned his attentions on Robins and Henry Pemberton
.
as his physician and prescribed lixivium lithontripticum for Walpole's bladder stones. Jurin had used a similar prescription for himself but Walpole died and Jurin was blamed for his death, again necessitating an energetic pamphlet campaign to defend his practice. Jurin died in London and was buried at St James Garlickhythe
. His estate
was valued at £35,000 (£4.9 million at 2003 prices)
.
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
15 December 1684 – 29 March 1750) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, particularly remembered for his early work in capillary action
Capillary action
Capillary action, or capilarity, is the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity where liquid spontanously rise in a narrow space such as between the hair of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, or in porous material such as paper or in some non-porous material such as liquified carbon fiber, or in a...
and in the epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
of smallpox vaccination
Smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed. The process of vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, who acted upon his observation that milkmaids who caught the cowpox virus did not catch smallpox...
. He was a staunch proponent of the work of Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
and often used his gift for satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
in Newton's defence.
Early life
Jurin's father was John Jurin, a LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
dyer
Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling...
. His mother was John's wife Dorcas Cotesworth. He was educated at Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
where he won a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, graduating
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1705, and being elected fellow the following year. Becoming the protégé of the master of Trinity, Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge....
, Jurin became tutor to Mordecai Cary
Mordecai Cary
-Early years:Mordecai Cary was born in London on 7 August 1687 and baptized eight days later at St Faith-under-St.Pauls' He was the eldest son of John Carrey, citizen and cook, of Ivy Lane, who married Jane Cheese on 15 June 1684 at Temple Church...
, travelling with him internationally. Jurin achieved his MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1709 and became headteacher of the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School Newcastle upon Tyne, known locally and often abbreviated as RGS, is a long-established co-educational, independent school in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It gained its Royal Charter under Queen Elizabeth I...
. Jurin became a frequent public speaker on mathematics and the work of Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
. Jurin returned to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in 1715 to study medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, becoming MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
the following year and establishing a successful practice in London and Tunbridge Wells. In 1722, he lectured on anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
to the Company of Surgeons. From 1725 to 1732 he worked as a physician at Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
, thereafter becoming a governor of the hospital. In 1724, Jurin married Mary Douglas, née Harris (died 1784), wealthy widow of Oley Douglas
Oley Douglas
Oley Douglas was a British politician.He was a Member of Parliament for Morpeth, Northumberland from 1713 to 1715.He died aged 35 in 1719.-References:...
, and they had five daughters and one son.
Medical practice
Jurin rose to a position of some eminence in medicine and science. He is described as "witty, satirical, ambitious, and professionally and financially successful". He was a powerful advocate of the smallpox variolation, a procedure involving scratching pus or material from the scabs of smallpox sores into the veins of a non-immune person to create a mild case of the disease that would confer lifelong immunity. Jurin used an early statisticalStatistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
study to compare the risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
s of variolation with those from contracting the disease naturally. He studied mortality
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
statistics for London for the fourteen years prior to 1723 and concluded that one fourteenth of the population had died from smallpox, up to 40 percent during epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
s. He advertised in the Proceedings of the Royal Society
Proceedings of the Royal Society
Proceedings of the Royal Society is the parent title of two scientific journals published by the Royal Society, whereas its initial journal, Philosophical Transactions, is now devoted to special thematic issues...
for readers to report their personal and professional experiences and received over sixty replies, most from other physicians or surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
s but most significantly from Thomas Nettleton
Thomas Nettleton
Thomas Nettleton was an English physician who carried out some of the earliest systematic programmes of smallpox vaccination and who went on to statistical investigation of the outcomes....
who reported his own calculations from his experience in several communities in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Jurin's analysis concluded that the probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
of death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
from variolation was roughly 1 in 50, while the probability of death from naturally contracted smallpox was 1 in 7 or 8. He published his results in a series of annual pamphlets, An Account of the Success of Inoculating the Small-Pox (1723–1727). His work was very influential in establishing smallpox variolation in England some seventy years before Edward Jenner introduced the more effective method of "vaccination" using cowpox material in place of human smallpox. Jurin claimed that he had given "plain Proof from Experience and Matters of Fact that the Small Pox procured by inoculation ... is far less Dangerous than the same Distemper has been for many Years in the Natural Way."
Newtonian scientist
Jurin was an "ardent Newtonian". He had studied under Roger CotesRoger Cotes
Roger Cotes FRS was an English mathematician, known for working closely with Isaac Newton by proofreading the second edition of his famous book, the Principia, before publication. He also invented the quadrature formulas known as Newton–Cotes formulas and first introduced what is known today as...
and William Whiston
William Whiston
William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
at Cambridge but only came to know Newton at the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, where Jurin was Secretary towards the end of Newton's Presidency
President of the Royal Society
The president of the Royal Society is the elected director of the Royal Society of London. After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was founded officially on 15 July 1662 for the encouragement of ‘philosophical studies’, by a royal charter which nominated William Brouncker as...
. Always advocating the Newtonian position, he was a keen controversialist, corresponding with Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
and Émilie du Châtelet
Émilie du Châtelet
-Early life:Du Châtelet was born on 17 December 1706 in Paris, the only daughter of six children. Three brothers lived to adulthood: René-Alexandre , Charles-Auguste , and Elisabeth-Théodore . Her eldest brother, René-Alexandre, died in 1720, and the next brother, Charles-Auguste, died in 1731...
. He took an active part in defending Newton and attacking Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
in the debate over vis viva, opposing the views of Benjamin Robins
Benjamin Robins
Benjamin Robins was a pioneering English scientist, Newtonian mathematician, and military engineer.He wrote an influential treatise on gunnery, for the first time introducing Newtonian science to military men, was an early enthusiast for rifled gun barrels, and his work had substantive influence...
and Pietro Antonio Michelotti. Jurin fostered international observational research into weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
and meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and studied the phenomenon of capillary action
Capillary action
Capillary action, or capilarity, is the ability of a liquid to flow against gravity where liquid spontanously rise in a narrow space such as between the hair of a paint-brush, in a thin tube, or in porous material such as paper or in some non-porous material such as liquified carbon fiber, or in a...
, deriving the rule that the height of liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
in a capillary tube is inversely proportional to the diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
of the tube at the surface of the liquid only, a law sometimes known as Jurin's law
Jurin's Law
Jurin's Law describes the rise and fall of a liquid within a thin capillary tube. Named after its discoverer James Jurin....
. He published on hydrodynamics and was critical of Jean and Daniel Bernoulli
Daniel Bernoulli
Daniel Bernoulli was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is particularly remembered for his applications of mathematics to mechanics, especially fluid mechanics, and for his pioneering work in probability and statistics...
's work. Jurin worked on iatrophysics
Iatrophysics
Iatrophysics or iatromechanics is the medical application of physics. It was a school of medicine in the seventeenth century which attempted to explain physiological phenomena in mechanical terms. It was related to iatrochemistry and was particularly associated with the work of Giovanni Borelli....
, investigating the mechanical behaviour of the heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
and the specific gravity
Specific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance is nearly always water for...
of blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, debating the heart with John Keill
John Keill
John Keill was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was primarilya mathematician and important disciple of Isaac Newton. He studied at Edinburgh University, under David Gregory, and obtained his bachelors degree in 1692 with a distinction in physics and mathematics...
and Jean-Baptiste de Sénac
Jean-Baptiste de Sénac
Jean-Baptiste de Sénac was a French physician who was born in the town of Lombez. Details of his early life are sketchy, however it is generally thought that he studied medicine at the University of Leyden, and later in London, where one of his instructors was John Freind...
. He wrote an addendum (1738) On Distinct and Indistinct Vision to Robert Smith
Robert Smith (mathematician)
Robert Smith was an English mathematician and music theorist.-Life:Smith was probably born at Lea near Gainsborough, the son of the rector of Gate Burton, Lincolnshire...
's Opticks and engaged in a lively epistollary exchange with Robins on the topic.
Controversy with Berkeley
In 1734, George BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley
George Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
published The Analyst
The Analyst
The Analyst, subtitled "A DISCOURSE Addressed to an Infidel MATHEMATICIAN. WHEREIN It is examined whether the Object, Principles, and Inferences of the modern Analysis are more distinctly conceived, or more evidently deduced, than Religious Mysteries and Points of Faith", is a book published by...
in which he attacked the calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
as flawed and ultimately absurd. Between 1734 and 1742, Jurin published over three hundred pages in robust rebuttal of Berkeley, many of them employing his favourite weapon of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. The publications, some under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Philalethes Cantabrigensis, included Geometry no Friend to Infidelity, or A Defence of Sir Isaac Newton & the British Mathematicians (1734) and The Minute Mathematician, or The Freethinker no Just Thinker (1735). Berkeley quickly withdrew from the debate and Jurin turned his attentions on Robins and Henry Pemberton
Henry Pemberton
Henry Pemberton was an English physician and man of letters. He became Gresham Professor of Physic, and edited the third edition of Principia Mathematica.-Life:...
.
Later life
Jurin attended Robert WalpoleRobert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
as his physician and prescribed lixivium lithontripticum for Walpole's bladder stones. Jurin had used a similar prescription for himself but Walpole died and Jurin was blamed for his death, again necessitating an energetic pamphlet campaign to defend his practice. Jurin died in London and was buried at St James Garlickhythe
St James Garlickhythe
St. James Garlickhythe is a Church of England parish church in Vintry ward of the City of London, nicknamed ‘Wren’s lantern’ owing to its profusion of windows. Recorded since the 12th century, the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher...
. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
was valued at £35,000 (£4.9 million at 2003 prices)
.
Offices and honours
| Royal Society Royal Society The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"... |
Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter... |
|---|---|
| Fellow, (1717) | Candidate, (1718) |
| Secretary, (1721–1727) | Fellow, (1719) |
| Editor of volumes 31-34 of the Philosophical Transactions | Censor five times during the period 1724-1750 |
| Consilarius, with Richard Mead Richard Mead Richard Mead was an English physician. His work, A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it , was of historic importance in the understanding of transmissible diseases.-Life:The eleventh child of Matthew Mead , Independent divine, Richard was born... , (1749) |
|
| President, (1750) |