Sir Edward Wilmot, 1st Baronet (1693–1786) was a surgeon and physician to both George II and George III of England.

He became a successful physician and his clients included the family of King George II of England. He was made a baronet in February 1730 becoming Sir Edward Wilmot, bart., of Chaddesden

Chaddesden

Chaddesden, also known locally as Chad, is a large suburb of Derby, United Kingdom, formerly known as Cedesdene.-Cedesene village:The old village of Cedesene is situated two and a half miles east of the city...

.

Wilmot became the army's physician general and George III's physician. He resided at 18 Cork Street in Westminster.

Early life

The second son of Robert Wilmot and Joyce, daughter of William Sacheverell of Staunton, Leicestershire, he was born at his father's seat of Chaddesden near Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

 on 29 October 1693. He entered St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

, and graduated B.A. in 1714, was elected a fellow, took his M.A. degree in 1718 and M.D. in 1725.

Physician

He was admitted a candidate or member of the 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...

 on 30 September 1725, and was elected a fellow on 30 September 1726. In 1729 and 1741 he was a censor, and a Harveian orator in 1735. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 29 January 1730. From 1725 he practised as a physician in London, and was elected physician to St. Thomas's Hospital, and in 1740 appointed physician-general to the army. In April 1731 he was appointed physician-extraordinary to Queen Caroline of Ansbach

Caroline of Ansbach

Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...

; and soon became physician in ordinary, and physician to Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...

. He became physician extraordinary to George II on the queen's death in 1737 and physician in ordinary

In ordinary

In ordinary as a phrase has two technical meanings recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary:# In relation particularly to the staff of the British royal household, and more generally to those employed by the Crown, it is used as a suffix showing that the appointment is to the regular staff, for...

 1742.

In 1736 John Fothergill

John Fothergill (physician)

John Fothergill FRS was an English physician, plant collector, philanthropist and Quaker.- Life and work :...

 became his pupil. When Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham

Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...

 had lost two sons by sore throat in 1739, Wilmot preserved the life of his wife, Lady Catharine Pelham, by lancing her throat. In March 1751, with Matthew Lee, he attended Frederick, Prince of Wales, in his last illness; and does not seem to have anticipated his death. Archbishop Thomas Herring

Thomas Herring

Thomas Herring was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.He was educated at Wisbech Grammar School and later Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he was a contemporary of Matthew Hutton, who succeeded him in turn in each of his dioceses...

 was his patient in a serious attack of pleurisy

Pleurisy

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....

 in 1753.

Later life

He was created a baronet on 15 February 1759. On the death of George II, Wilmot, with John Ranby

John Ranby

-Life:The son of Joseph Ranby of St. Giles-in-the-Fields in Middlesex, an innholder, he put himself apprentice to Edward Barnard, foreign brother of the Company of Barber-Surgeons, on 5 April 1715. On 5 October 1722 he was examined on his skill in surgery...

, acquainted George III with two wishes which the late king had confided to them: that his body should be embalmed with a double quantity of perfumes, and that it should be laid close to that of the queen. George III at once assented.

Wilmot became physician in ordinary to George III in 1760, left London next year, and lived in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

; but then moved to Heringstone in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, where he died on 21 November 1786. He was buried in the church of Monkton

Monkton

-Places:United Kingdom*Monkton, Ayrshire*Monkton, Devon*Monkton, Kent*Monkton, Pembroke*Monkton, Tyne and WearCanada*Monkton, OntarioUnited States*Monkton, Maryland*Monkton, Vermont-See also:*Moncton *Monckton*Monkton House...

, where his epitaph remains.

Family

He married Sarah Marsh, daughter of 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...

. She died on 11 September 1785, aged 83; her portrait, painted by Joseph Wright

Joseph Wright of Derby

Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....

, A.R.A., remained in the family, as did a portrait of Wilmot by Thomas Beach

Thomas Beach

Thomas Beach VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

. He was succeeded in his baronetcy by his son, Robert Mead Wilmot, and had also two daughters, Ann(e) and Jane, who both married.