John Radcliffe (1650–1714)
This statue of John Radcliffe at the Radcliffe Observatory, commissioned by the Radcliffe Trustees
and the Ashmolean Museum and sculpted by Martin Jennings, was
unveiled in September 2018
John Radcliffe was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, the son of George Radcliffe, and was baptised at All Saints Church there on 1 May 1650. (The above statue says that he was born in 1652, but confusingly a second John Radcliffe, also son of George, was baptised at the same church on 23 January 1652.)
On 23 March 1665/6 at the age of 15 (which agrees with the 1650 birth), he was matriculated at the University of Oxford by University College, with his father described as a “pleb”. He obtained his B.A. in 1668 and his B.Med. in 1675, and was a Fellow of Lincoln College until 1677, but had to resign his Fellowship then because he did not wish to take Holy Orders (as was required under the University statutes).
He took lodgings in Oxford with a Mr Adams to the west of St Mary-the-Virgin Church, later moving to the lodgings of a Mr Hicks, and practised medicine with great success in Oxford. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1682.
In 1684 he moved to practice in London, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1687. In 1691 he agreed to care for the two-year-old William, Duke of Gloucester provided that his mother Princess Anne her sister Queen Mary II relied on him exclusively for medical advice, and he started to make his fortune.
He was also Member of Parliament for Bramber from 1690 to 1695 and for Buckingham from 1713 to 1714.
John Radcliffe died at his house at Carshalton, Surrey on 1 November 1714 and his body was brought to Oxford He was buried in St Mary-the-Virgin Church, Oxford, where there is the following plaque (which again gives the wrong year of birth):
In his will dated 13 September 1714 he left annuities to his two sisters and left the bulk of his estate to the University of Oxford (to pay for the erection of the Radcliffe Camera, the Radcliffe Observatory, and the Radcliffe Infirmary) and to University College (for the building of a new quadrangle and the endowment of two Fellowships in medicine). Later came the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum (later renamed the Warneford), and when the science books were moved to a new library in 1901, that was named the Radcliffe Science Library.
Statue of John Radcliffe inside University College
The Radcliffe Quadrangle in University College is named after John Radcliffe, and the above lead statue of him by Francis Bird stands over the unused gateway into that quadrangle from the High Street (back-to-back with the statue of his patient Queen Mary II facing the High. It has following inscription:
En intra sua Moenia votiva, RADCLIVIUMI |
[Behold inside his own promised walls RADCLIFFE, |
The Radcliffe Infirmary
The following address to the public from the Radcliffe Trustees appeared in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 29 October 1768:
The Trustees acting under the Will of Dr. Radcliffe being desirous of applying the monies left to their disposal in a manner most consonant to the idea of the Benefactor, and most conducive to the good of Mankind; have judged that these desirable objects could be in no way so effectually and properly answered, as by the Institution of a General Infirmary,—They were naturally induced to wish that this design might be executed in or near the City of Oxford; Not only upon account of the filial predilection which Dr. Radcliffe ever showed to that University (where he had so happily imbibed the first Principles of his Art); but also upon consideration of peculiar local advantages to be expected from proximity to a Seminary of Knowledge; out of which, among other sciences, that of Physic is continually transplanted to every part of these Kingdoms.
The Radcliffe Camera is on the left, the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington on the horizon,
and St Mary-the-Virgin Church where John Radcliffe is buried on the right
See also entry for John Radcliffe in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Trading on Dr Radcliffe's name in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
Despite the fact that John Radcliffe wrote no medical texts in his lifetime, a book called Dr Radcliff's Prescriptions was published in 1716, two years after his death:
- University College: “Less study & more exercise”
Dr Radcliffe’s “famous purging elixir” produced by Dicey & Okell of London was advertised in Jackson’s Oxford Journal from its first publication right up until 1888. Here is an early advertisement dating from13 May 1758:
Dr. Radcliffe's Famous Purging Elixir
Being the only celebrated Cathartick esteemed in the World, which daily adds to the Character of that Great Man, whose Fame will live as long as the World shall endure; it far exceeding any Medicine yet experienced both in Quality and Quantity, being not of the Nature of those sweet Slops sold by this or that Name about the Kingdom, where the Sick are obliged to take four or five Ounces, or five or six nauseous Pills, which render Physick so obnoxious, that Thousands puke at the Sight of either Vial or Pill-Box; but, on the contrary, it is a fine Bitter, which is the most grateful Taste to them that have Occasion for Physick; and 'tis reduced into so small a Quantity, that Spoonful proves a sufficient Dose in most Constitutions, requiring no Confinement, neither does it leave the Body bound, but gives two or three Stools the succeeding Day; working so kindly, and by Ways so familiar to Nature, that you'd bless yourself to see its wonderful Effects: Therefore 'tis a Pity any Family should be unacquainted with its Virtues, all Persons of Sense agreeing in this one Point, that 'tis the very best of Purges to cleanse the Body of all gross and vicious Humour contracted by hard Drinking, Surfeits, Colds, Measles, or Small-Pox”. It destroys all Manner of Worms in Children or grown Persons, gives present Ease in the Cholick, expels Wind, and cures the Scurvy, Dropsy, Itch, and all Sores or Breakings-out whatsoever; 'tis taken with great Success in the Black or Yellow Jaundice, King’s-Evil, Swelling of the Face or Gums, bad Breath, Deafness (provided the Ears run); it cures the Head-ach, Vertigo, Heartburn, helps digestion, dissipates Vapours and sudden Faintings, procures a strong Appetite, prevents Vomiting and reaching in the Morning, Gripes and Pains in the Bowels, Difficulty of Breathing, and Morning Sweats, strengthning the Nerves; and there is not a better Medicine in the World to prevent those Diseases which commonly attend Persons at Sea, occasioned by bad Air, Diet, &c. therefore none who undertake long Voyages or Journeys, ought to be without it, or omit taking it at Spring and Fall; the Price being, for the Advantage of the Poor, but Twelve Pence, though well worth Twelve Shillings. To prevent Counterfeits, observe the Names DICEY and OKELL be in the Direction Bill; and that each Bottle is sealed with the same Arms as in the Margin, and has a Label affixed to it with these Words: Dr. RADCLIFFE'S Famous Purging ELIXIR, With which is given gratis a Book of its Use and Virtues, well worthy the Perusal of the most Curious. Great Allowance is made to them that sell it again.
By the late 1880s the claims were somewhat less extravagant. This advertisement was published in Jackson's Oxford Journal on 8 September 1888 by W. Sutton & Co (late Dicey & Sutton) of London, immediately after an advertisement for Dicey's Squire's Original Grand Elixir:
Of whom also may be had
DR RADCLIFFE'S ELIXIRFor a general alterative [sic] medicine, this valuable Elixir stands unrivalled; and the public cannot have recourse to a more efficacious remedy, as a purifier of the blood from all humours, whether contracted by too free living, or from jaundice surfeits, scurvy, or humours after the measles or small pox, &c. For all obstructions in the intestines, and for the cure of worms in children or adults, it will be found equally serviceable. It assists digestions, strengthens the stomach, and has been found of infinite service to those who take long voyages, as a preservative against the scurvy.
Observe the words “Dicey & Co.” are printed in the stamp affixed to each bottle, as counterfeits are offered for sale in almost every town.