William Hewson (surgeon)
| William Hewson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
14 November 1739 Hexham |
| Died | 1 May 1774 (aged 34) |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Fields |
Surgery anatomist physiologist |
| Known for | haematology |
| Notable awards | Copley Medal (1769) |
William Hewson (14 November 1739 – 1 May 1774) was an English surgeon, anatomist and physiologist who has sometimes been referred to as the "father of haematology".
Born in Hexham, Northumberland, Hewson initially studied in 1753 at the Newcastle Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne (which later became the Royal Victoria Infirmary) under its founder Richard Lambert and much later in the winter of 1761/1762 in Edinburgh and was a student, and later an assistant, of William Hunter. He was awarded the Copley Medal in 1769 and elected to the Royal Society in 1770.
His major contribution was in isolating fibrin, a key protein in the blood coagulation process. His Copley work came when he showed the existence of lymph vessels in animals and explained their function by hypothesizing the existence of a human lymphatic system. He also demonstrated that red blood cells were discoid, rather than spherical as had been previously supposed by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, but incorrectly identified the cells' dark centers as their nuclei. In 1773 he produced evidence for the concept of a cell membrane in red blood cells — however, this last work was largely ignored.
On 10 July 1770 he married Mary Stevenson (better known as Polly), a London friend of Benjamin Franklin. From September 1772 he ran an anatomy school at 36 Craven Street, where Franklin lodged in London (which is now the Benjamin Franklin House museum).
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