CHEYNE (George)

, a British physician, and mathematician, was born in Scotland, 1671, and educated at Edinburgh under Dr. Pitcairn. He passed his youth in close study and great abstemiousness; but coming to London, when about 30 years of age, he fuddenly changed his whole manner of living; which had such an effect upon his constitution, that his body grew to a most enormous bulk, weighing it is said about 448 pounds. From this load of oppression however he was afterward in a great measure relieved, by means of a milk and vegetable diet, which reduced his weight to about one-third of what it had been, and restored him to a good state of health; by which his life was prolonged to the 72d year of his age.

Dr. Cheyne was author of various medical and other tracts, and of a treatise on the Inverse method of Fluxions, under the title of Fluxionum Methodus Inversa; sive quantitatum fluentium leges generaliores: in 4to, 1703. Upon this book De Moivre wrote some animadversions in an 8vo vol. 1704; which were replied to by Cheyne in 1705.