James Parkinson
| James Parkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
11 April 1755 Shoreditch, London, England |
| Died |
21 December 1824 (aged 69) Shoreditch, London, England |
| Cause of death | Stroke |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Surgeon |
| Known for | First description of Parkinson's disease |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Dale |
| Children | 6 |
James Parkinson FGS (11 April 1755 – 21 December 1824) was an English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist, and political activist. He is most famous for his 1817 work, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy in which he was the first to describe "paralysis agitans", a condition that would later be renamed Parkinson's disease by Jean-Martin Charcot.
James Parkinson was born in Shoreditch, London, England. He was the son of John Parkinson, an apothecary and surgeon practising in Hoxton Square in London. He was the oldest of three siblings, which included his brother William and his sister Mary Sedgewood. In 1784 Parkinson was approved by the City of London Corporation as a surgeon.
On 21 May 1783, he married Mary Dale, with whom he subsequently had eight children; two did not survive past childhood. Soon after he was married, Parkinson succeeded his father in his practice in 1 Hoxton Square. He believed that any worthwhile surgeon should know shorthand, at which he was adept.
In addition to his flourishing medical practice, Parkinson had an avid interest in geology and palaeontology, as well as the politics of the day.
Parkinson was a strong advocate for the under-privileged, and an outspoken critic of the Pitt government. His early career was marred by his being involved in a variety of social and revolutionary causes, and some historians think it most likely that he was a strong proponent for the French Revolution. He published nearly twenty political pamphlets in the post-French Revolution period, while Britain was in political chaos. Writing under his own name and his pseudonym "Old Hubert", he called for radical social reforms and universal suffrage.
Parkinson called for representation of the people in the House of Commons, the institution of annual parliaments, and universal suffrage. He was a member of several secret political societies, including the London Corresponding Society and the Society of Constitutional Information. In 1794 his membership in the organisation led to his being examined under oath before William Pitt and the Privy Council to give evidence about a trumped-up plot to assassinate King George III. He refused to testify regarding his part in the popgun plot, until he was certain he would not be forced to incriminate himself. The plan was to use a poisoned dart fired from a pop-gun to bring the king's reign to a premature conclusion. No charges were ever brought against Parkinson but several of his friends languished in prison for many months before being acquitted.
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