Sir Gilbert Blane

Sir Gilbert Blane, Bt
Gilbert Blane by Martin Archer Shee, 1833
Born	29 August 1749 Blanefield, by Kirkoswald, Ayrshire, Scotland
Died	26 June 1834 London, England
Nationality	Scottish
Fields	Medicine
Alma mater	Edinburgh University Glasgow University (MD 1778)
Known for	Obligatory use of lemon juice to prevent scurvy
Influences	Lord Rodney William Cullen

Sir Gilbert Blane of Blanefield, 1st Baronet FRSE FRS MRCP (29 August 1749 – 26 June 1834) was a Scottish physician who instituted health reform in the Royal Navy. He saw action against both the French and Spanish fleets, and later served as a Commissioner on the Sick and Wounded Board of the Admiralty.

Born in Blanefield, by Kirkoswald, in Ayrshire, he was the fourth son of Gilbert Blane of Blanefield (d.1771) and Agnes McFadzen.

He studied medicine at Edinburgh University and Glasgow University (MD 1778) before moving to London. The challenge of establishing a practice in London was eased by his friendship with Dr William Hunter, elder brother of the famous John Hunter who is now widely regarded as the father of modern surgery in Britain. Dr William Hunter introduced Blane to Lord Rodney who appointed Blane as his personal physician aboard HMS Sandwich.

Blane was appointed Physician to the Fleet (1779–1783) and accompanied Rodney, initially to pursue the Spanish squadron besieging Gibraltar and engaging them at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, and then to the West Indies. Blane did much to improve the health of sailors by improving their diet and enforcing proper sanitary precautions. He demanded monthly reports from other ships' surgeons which enabled him to build up a detailed picture of the high levels of sickness that affected the squadron. Despite James Lind's 1753 publication of A treatise on scurvy, which established the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables in preventing scurvy, the Admiralty had not implemented his recommendations, and scurvy remained a significant cause of sickness in the Fleet. Blane published a pamphlet for the benefit of ships' surgeons in 1780 entitled On the most effective means for preserving the health of seamen, particularly in the Royal Navy. He advocated the use of citrus juice as a preventative and cure for scurvy in the squadron and eventually, as Commissioner of the Sick and Wounded Board, persuaded the Admiralty to go against the theories of the medical establishment and introduce lemon juice as daily addition to the naval diet in 1795. Later lemons were replaced by limes which could be obtained from Britain's Caribbean colonies, and for this reason, "limey" became a common slang word for a British person.