Alexander Crichton
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| - | '''Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine''' [[Order of the Thistle|KT]] [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|PC]] [[King's Counsel|KC]] (10 January 1750 – 17 November 1823) was a British lawyer and politician. He served as [[Lord Chancellor]] of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] between 1806 and 1807 in the [[Ministry of All the Talents]]. | + | '''Sir Alexander Crichton''' (2 December 1763 – 4 June 1856) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] doctor, physician and author. |
| - | Notable amongst the later cases of Erskine's career was that of [[James Hadfield]], a former soldier who had fired a shot at the [[George III of the United Kingdom|king]] in [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre]]. The shot missed and Hadfield was charged with treason. Erskine called a large number of witnesses who testified to Hadfield's sometimes bizarre behaviour, a surgeon who testified to the nature of the head injuries that Hadfield had sustained in battle, and a doctor, [[Alexander Crichton]], who gave evidence that Hadfield was insane. Erskine argued that, although Hadfield could appear rational, he was in the grip of a delusion and could not control his actions. He summed up: "I must convince you, not only that the unhappy prisoner was a lunatic, within my own definition of lunacy, but that the act in question was the immediate unqualified offspring of the disease". The judge, [[Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon|Lord Kenyon]], was convinced by Erskine's evidence and argument and stopped the trial, acquitted Hadfield and ordered him to be detained. The trial led to two acts of parliament: the [[Criminal Lunatics Act 1800]] which provided for the detention of people who were acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity, and the [[Treason Act 1800]]. | + | == Medical career == |
| + | Born in [[Newington, Edinburgh]], Crichton received his [[M.D.]] from [[Leiden|Leyden]], Holland, in 1785. He developed his medical skills through studies at [[Paris]], [[Stuttgart]], [[Vienna]], and [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]]. He returned to London in 1789, becoming [[Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons|MRCS]] but by 1791 he had moved from surgery, becoming a member of the [[Royal College of Physicians]], and a Fellow of the [[Linnean Society of London]] in 1793, holding the post of [[physician]] at [[Westminster Hospital]] between 1794 and 1801. | ||
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| + | In 1803 Crichton was invited to become the [[emperor of Russia]], and between 1804 and 1819 was appointed Physician in Ordinary (personal physician) to Tsar [[Alexander I of Russia]] and to [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Maria Feodorovna]], the Dowager Empress. He was also head of medical services in that country, receiving several Russian and Prussian honours. | ||
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| + | == Geological studies == | ||
| + | Retiring to England, Crichton wrote several books dealing with medical and geological subjects, becoming a member of the [[Royal Geographical Society]] in 1819. Crichton's extensive collection of minerals consisted mainly of specimens from Siberia, Russia, Norway, Hungary, Germany, the UK, the US and India. These were acquired during his tenure as physician to Alexander I of Russia and during his travels throughout Europe when he was studying medicine. | ||
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| + | == ADHD pioneer == | ||
| + | He was the first person to describe a condition similar to the inattentive subtype of [[attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD), in his book ''An inquiry into the nature and origin of mental derangement: comprehending a concise system of the physiology and pathology of the human mind and a history of the passions and their effects'' (1798). | ||
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| + | == Death == | ||
| + | He died at The Groves, near Sevenoaks, in 1856 and was buried at [[West Norwood Cemetery]], where his monument is a gabled granite slab. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (Section: 18th century) | ||
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Sir Alexander Crichton (2 December 1763 – 4 June 1856) was a Scottish doctor, physician and author.
Contents |
Medical career
Born in Newington, Edinburgh, Crichton received his M.D. from Leyden, Holland, in 1785. He developed his medical skills through studies at Paris, Stuttgart, Vienna, and Halle. He returned to London in 1789, becoming MRCS but by 1791 he had moved from surgery, becoming a member of the Royal College of Physicians, and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in 1793, holding the post of physician at Westminster Hospital between 1794 and 1801.
In 1803 Crichton was invited to become the emperor of Russia, and between 1804 and 1819 was appointed Physician in Ordinary (personal physician) to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and to Maria Feodorovna, the Dowager Empress. He was also head of medical services in that country, receiving several Russian and Prussian honours.
Geological studies
Retiring to England, Crichton wrote several books dealing with medical and geological subjects, becoming a member of the Royal Geographical Society in 1819. Crichton's extensive collection of minerals consisted mainly of specimens from Siberia, Russia, Norway, Hungary, Germany, the UK, the US and India. These were acquired during his tenure as physician to Alexander I of Russia and during his travels throughout Europe when he was studying medicine.
ADHD pioneer
He was the first person to describe a condition similar to the inattentive subtype of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in his book An inquiry into the nature and origin of mental derangement: comprehending a concise system of the physiology and pathology of the human mind and a history of the passions and their effects (1798).
Death
He died at The Groves, near Sevenoaks, in 1856 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery, where his monument is a gabled granite slab.
See also
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (Section: 18th century)
