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James Currie (physician)
Scottish physician (1756–1805) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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James Currie FRS (31 May 1756 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland – 31 August 1805 in Sidmouth) was a Scottish physician, best known for his anthology and biography of Robert Burns and his medical reports on the use of water in the treatment of fever. A watercolour portrait by Horace Hone (1756–1825) is in the National Galleries of Scotland.[1]
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His early attempt to set up a merchanting business in Virginia was a failure and he returned to Scotland. After qualifying as a medical doctor he established a successful practice in Liverpool, England and after a few years was able to purchase a small estate in Dumfriesshire.[2] He became a Fellow of the London Medical Society and was a founder member of the Liverpool Literary Society.[3] He was an early advocate of the abolition of slavery[4] and wrote several political letters and pamphlets, including one to William Pitt, which made him a number of enemies.
Throughout his life, he was dogged by illness and in 1804 he became seriously unwell. In an effort to find a cure, he relinquished his Liverpool practice and went to Bath, Clifton and finally Sidmouth, where he died on 31 August 1805 at age 49.