Gerard Boate

Gerard Boate (also Gérard de Boot, Bootius or Botius) (1604, Gorinchem – 1650, Dublin) was a Dutch physician, known for his Natural History of Ireland.

Boate was born Gerrit/Gerard Boot, in Gorinchem, son of the knight Godfried Boot (c.1570–1625) and of Christine van Loon. He entered the university of Leyden as a medical student and graduated there as doctor of medicine 3 July 1628. His younger brother Arnold Boate (1606–1653) followed him to study medicine in Leiden. Both moved to London around 1630, where their family had settled earlier. Gerard became employed as physician to Charles I of England and Arnold as physician to the Earl of Leicester. In 1631 in London Gerard married Catharina Menning (or Manning) with whom he had three children.

Boate became a contributor to the fund under the English act of parliament of 1642, which admitted the Dutch to subscribe money for the reduction of the Irish, to be subsequently repaid by grant of forfeited lands in Ireland. He was admitted a licentiate of the College of Physicians 6 November 1646. In April 1649 the appointment of Boate as doctor to the hospital at Dublin was referred by the council of state in London to Oliver Cromwell, who had just been appointed commander-in-chief for Ireland. The treasurer-at-war in the following September paid Boate fifty pounds, as physician for Ireland.

Boate arrived in Ireland at the latter end of 1649, while Cromwell was in command there, but he survived only a short time. He died in January 1650. In repayment of Boate's contributions, his widow Katherine Boate, obtained, under certificate dated 15 November 1667, over one thousand acres of land in Tipperary. Among their descendants was the High Court judge Godfrey Boate, who is chiefly remembered for the mocking elegy on his death by Jonathan Swift. The Boate lands passed by inheritance to the Hemsworth family.

In 1630 he published a book styled ‘Horæ Jucundæ.’ With his brother Arnold, he produced a treatise on philosophy, Philosophia Naturalis Reformata, published in 1641.

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