|
William Withering ( 1741-1799 )
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William Withering (1741-1799) was a British physician and the discoverer of digitalis.
Trained as a doctor
at Edinburgh University, he worked at Birmingham General Hospital from
1779. The story is that one of his patients with dropsy (congestive
heart failure) improved remarkably after taking a traditional herbal
remedy; William became famous for recognising that the active
ingredient in the mixture was contained in the leaves of foxglove. The
active ingredient is now known as digitalis, after the plant's
scientific name.
He lived in Edgbaston Hall (now a golf club), in Birmingham, England, and was one of the members of the Lunar Society.
He published an
early and influential British Flora, of which there were many editions,
some posthumus, and carried out pioneering work into the identificaton
of fungi.
He is buried in
Edgbaston old church, next to the hall. His memorial stone, now moved
inside the church, has foxgloves carved upon it to commemorate his
discovery. He is remebered by the Moonstones, also in Birmingham.
|
