Dr Richard Davies (1708–1761): Reform, Contagion, Blood and Inflammation

Abstract

Though he is nearly forgotten today, Dr Richard Davies (FRS 1738–41) was an innovative medical writer, a controversial educational reformer, and a path-breaking haematologist. His research on the composition of human blood, especially the formation of a ‘buffy coat’ in fevers, anticipated the better-known work of William Hewson and may have contributed a greater understanding of the behaviour of blood in health and disease, the effects of inflammation, and the outcomes of venesection. Davies had hoped that his works would contribute to a larger discussion made possible by a new community of better-educated medical researchers, but his ambition was thwarted, his claim to intellectual property was ridiculed, and his work did not receive the credit it deserved. This article reviews Davies’s life and works and suggests some explanations for his obscurity.