Stephen Hales
| Stephen Hales | |
|---|---|
Stephen Hales, aged 82, by J.McArdell after T. Hudson
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| Born |
17 September 1677 Bekesbourne, Kent |
| Died |
4 January 1761 (aged 83) Teddington |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields |
Plant physiology Chemistry Physiology |
| Notable awards | Copley Medal (1739) |
Stephen Hales,was an English clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields including botany, pneumatic chemistry and physiology. He was the first person to measure blood pressure. He also invented several devices, including a ventilator, a pneumatic trough and a surgical forceps for the removal of bladder stones. In addition to these achievements was a philanthropist and wrote a popular tract on alcoholic intemperance.
Stephen Hales was born in 1677 in Bekesbourne, Kent, England. He was the sixth son of Thomas Hales, heir to Baronetcy of Beakesbourne and Brymore, and his wife, Mary (née Marsham), and was one of twelve or possibly thirteen children. Thomas Hales predeceased his father, Sir Robert Hales, and his first son Sir Thomas Hales, 2nd Baronet (Stephen Hales' brother) therefore succeeded to the baronetcy in December 1693.
Hales was educated in Kensington and then at Orpington before attending Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (or St Benedict's as it was then known) in 1696. Although he was an ordinand studying divinity, Hales would have received tuition in the Classics, mathematics, natural sciences and philosophy while in Cambridge. Hales was admitted as a Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1703, the same year as he obtained the degree of Master of Arts, and was ordained as Deacon at Bugden, Cambridgeshire. He continued his theological and other studies in Cambridge, where he became friends with William Stukeley who was studying medicine. He attended chemistry lectures by Giovanni Francisco Vigani while at Cambridge. His interest in biology, botany and physiology is presumed to date from that time.
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