How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Born in the manse of Arbuthnot, Kincardineshire, John Arbuthnot obtained an MA from Aberdeen in 1681. He obtained the first recorded MD from St Andrews University in 1696. Arbuthnot established himself in London, but before practising medicine he became known in literary circles by publishing several essays which showed profound scholarship and literary excellence. Among his friends were Pope and Swift. Early in his career as a physician he attended Prince George of Denmark in a sudden illness and the successful outcome of his care and skill opened the door to court circles. In 1705 he was appointed Physician Extraordinary to Queen Anne. Arbuthnot was given the degree of Doctor of Medicine from Cambridge, elected a Fellow of the College in 1707 and three years later the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London.