William Harvey: Figures from GCSE History

William Harvey Facts

Summary: William Harvey was a physician to both King James I and King Charles I. His work on the human body was influential in the development of understanding the human circulatory system.
Born: 1578
Died: 1657
Book: An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals
Biggest achievements: Harvey compared the heart to a mechanical fire pump, pushing blood through the body via a system of veins and arteries. He disproved Galen’s belief that blood the production of blood took place in the liver. By 1673, universities included Harvey’s work in the education of doctors.

Who was William Harvey?

William Harvey was born on 1st April 1578 in Folkestone, Kent. The son of a landowner, Harvey was born into a large family with seven brothers and two sisters. 
Harvey was well-educated and enjoyed being precise in his studies. He attended Canterbury School and Cambridge University. During this time Harvey gained qualifications in a variety of subjects including the arts and medicine. 
In 1599, Harvey chose to focus on medicine, studying at the University of Padua - one of the leading universities in medical education. He had many tutors including Hieronymous Fabricius, an Italian anatomist and surgeon. Fabricius had a significant influence on Harvey and lectured about Vesalius’ theory on the circulation of the blood. Vesalius discovered that veins contained valves showing that blood moves towards the heart. 

William Harvey’s medical career

By 1602, Harvey had completed his medical education at Padua. He returned to England as a physician. In 1604, he married Elizabeth Browne. Elizabeth was the daughter of Queen Elizabeth I’s physician, Launcelot Browne. This connection helped Harvey’s career progression enabling him to become a fellow at the Royal College of Physicians in 1607. 

Harvey became a physician to King James I and King Charles I. Both King James and King Charles had a keen interest in science. They ensured Harvey had the time and resources to pursue his research. Harvey repaid their support of him through his commitment to the royal family. During the first English Civil War (1642-1646), Harvey accompanied Charles I on his campaigns. He protected the King’s children during the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. Harvey’s prominent position allowed him to provide medical care for important men of the time, including the author Sir Francis Bacon. 

The Renaissance atmosphere shaped Harvey’s ideas. He was open to the idea of alchemy. Harvey used the Renaissance philosophical concept of microcosm (the smaller part) and macrocosm (the larger part) to explain his idea that the weather affected the human body. However, Harvey was religious. He conformed to the ideas of Aristotle that a higher power designed humans and the soul controlled the body.

What did William Harvey discover?

After 10 years of study and the loss of his notes during the Civil War, Harvey presented his anatomical findings to the College of Physicians in 1616. He compiled these in 1628 into a book called An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals. Harvey compared the heart to a mechanical fire pump, pushing blood through the body via a system of veins and arteries. He believed blood passed through microscopic veins to reach the fingers. We now know that these are capillaries. He disproved Galen’s belief that blood the production of blood took place in the liver. Harvey calculated that the liver would need to produce 1,800 litres of blood a day to keep a person alive. 

Harvey conducted experiments to prove many of his theories. To help his research the Royal College of Physicians allowed Harvey to dissect the bodies of hanged criminals. This, combined with the dissection of cold-blooded animals, provided Harvey with data to back up his theories. To prove there are connections between arteries and veins, Harvey wrapped a tight cord around a volunteer’s arm to block their blood supply. When Harvey loosened the cord slightly, blood began to flow to the arm but was unable to flow out, causing the vein to swell. 

The impact of Harvey’s work

The immediate impact of Harvey’s work proved controversial. Harvey was disproving many of Galen’s theories about the human body. Many doctors did not appreciate Harvey stating that their practices were ineffective. An example of this was Harvey’s criticism of bloodletting as a treatment. Medical practitioners at the time believed that Harvey’s work had no practical application to curing their patients so they ignored his suggestions. 

By 1673, universities included Harvey’s work in the education of doctors. Over the next two generations, medical professionals accepted Harvey’s findings and halted the use of blood-letting. 
During his lifetime, Harvey recorded a wealth of notes from animal and human dissections. He worked with the Royal College of Physicians to establish a library to store his findings for educational purposes. In 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed the library and the notes. 
However, Harvey’s work has a wider impact on life today. Modern medical fields such as cardiology would not have existed without Harvey’s discovery of the circulatory system. His legacy continues in the institutions named in his honour. There is a William Harvey Hospital near his birthplace in Ashford, Kent

William Harvey’s death

Harvey experienced ill health throughout his life. He regularly suffered insomnia and as he became older, he struggled with gout and kidney stones. Some reports state that Harvey’s mental health was so poor that he made a failed attempt to commit suicide by an overdose of laudanum, a medicine made by dissolving opium in alcohol. 

Harvey died on 3rd June 1657 of a stroke due to complications with gout. His grave is in St. Andrew's Church in Hempstead, Essex. He left a substantial donation in his will to the Royal College of Physicians.