Boerhaave (1668‒1738)

Boerhaave, a great physician, born near Leyden, and son of a pastor; ultimately professor of Medicine and Botany there, as well as of Chemistry; chairs of which he filled and adorned with the greatest distinction; his reputation spread over Europe, and even as far as China—a letter from which bore the simple address, “To M. Boerhaave, Europe,” and found him; his system was adopted by the profession, and patients from far and wide came to consult him—among others, Pope Benedict VIII. and Peter the Great; his character was as noble as his abilities were great; his principal works were “Institutiones Medicæ,” “Aphorismi de Cognoscendis et Curandis Morbis,” “Libellus de Materia Medica,” and “Institutiones Chemicæ” (1668‒1738).

Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)