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wife (some 16 years his senior) died a few months later on 21 January 1809, leaving all her property to her father-in-law, John
Lettsom. By a twist of fate, shortly before his own death, Lettsom, who had freed all the slaves he had ever owned, found himself the owner of another 1,000 slaves. Lettsome himself died before he could decide what to do with them and they were inherited by his grandson, William Pickering Lettsom.
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At the end of his life, Lettsom's son, Pickering
Lettsom, returned to Tortola to practice law and there he married a wealthy widow, Ruth Georges née Hodge, who had inherited some 1,000 slaves from her grandfather, Benzaliel Hodge. Pickering Lettsom died about a month after the marriage, and his new
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in the
British Virgin Islands, where he freed the slaves he had inherited and provided medical care for the local population. As the only doctor in the islands at that time, he was able to earn a considerable sum, his diligence and industry enabling him to resume his studies in Europe. John Coakley
305:
As founder, President (1775–76, 1784–85, 1808–11 and 1813–15) and benefactor of the London
Medical Society, Lettsom was the mainstay of the society from 1773 until his death in 1815. His influence remained strong and his example inspired the next generation of fellows — men such as Dr
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for homeless children. Numerous other clubs, societies, hospitals, dispensaries, and charitable institutions in the United
Kingdom and North America benefited from Lettsom's patronage, while from his pen there flowed a stream of "Hints", pamphlets, diatribes, and letters promoting
241:
in London and marriage to Ann (Nancy) Miers (1748-1830), daughter of John Miers. She was born in
Crooked Lane, London in about 1760: "A plain stumpy little woman whose only attraction was the large fortune she was known to possess!", but actually a singularly sweet person.
445:
When his good friend, William
Thornton, sought his advice about setting up a colony for freed slaves on the west coast of Africa, Lettsom counselled against it and suggested spending the money acquiring and manumitting the slaves in North America instead.
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in 1773, convinced that a combined membership of physicians, surgeons and apothecaries would prove productive. As the oldest such in the United
Kingdom, it is housed in London's medical community at Lettsome House, Chandos Street, near
711:
Naamlijst van West-Indische studenten te Leiden, Utrecht, Groningen en
Harderwijk 1701–1813 / door L. Knappert. – In: Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche geschiedenis en oudheidkunde, zesde reeks, tiende deel, 1930, p. 294, no.
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Bronnen tot de geschiedenis der
Leidsche Universiteit, zesde deel, 10 Febr. 1765-21 Febr. 1795 : Catalogus promotorum ex die 14. Februarii anni 1765 / P.C. Molhuysen. – 's-Gravenhage:Martinus Nijhoff, 1923, p.
229:) survives, at the junction with Grove Hill Road. A side-street, Lettsom Street,; Lettsom Gardens, a community garden; and a nearby housing estate are named in his honour. The cottage is Grade II listed.
298:. In the diversity of his interests, as physician, philanthropist, botanist, mineralogist and collector, Lettsom was in the mould of that giant of the previous generation of London physicians, Sir
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The naturalist's and traveller's companion, containing instructions for collecting and preserving objects of natural history and for promoting inquiries after human knowledge in general
153:, in 1744. John and his brother were the sole survivors of seven sets of male twins, sons of Edward and Mary Lettsom. John alone was sent to England at the age of six to be educated.
442:, and as the only physician on the island amassed a small fortune of £2,000 in a mere six months, whereupon he gave half to his mother (who had remarried) and returned to London.
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164:. Having completed an apprenticeship to a Yorkshire apothecary, Lettsom came to London in 1766 and through the influence of Dr Fothergill commenced his medical training at
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Society (for vaccination), and gave his support to the Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical Men, the Society for the Relief of Debtors, and the
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the antics of the young Lettsom attracted the attention of the Quaker preacher Samuel Fothergill, who introduced his protégé to his brother, the London physician,
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and had a villa at Grove Hill, away from the pollution of London. The villa was demolished when the estate was broken up in the early 1800s, but one of its
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John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1 Nov 1815), physician, with his family in his garden at Grove Hill, Camberwell, Surrey. Oil painting by unknown English artist,
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1001:, edited by Christopher Lawrence and Fiona A. Macdonald. The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, 2003
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430:. In 1767 he had returned to the British Virgin Islands after the death of his father, and found himself the owner of a share of his father's
314:, who followed in Lettsom's footsteps as President of the Society and physician to the General Dispensary. In 1791 Lettsom won the society's
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English-speaking students of medicine at the University of Leyden / R.W. Innes Smith. – Edinburgh/London:Oliver and Boyd, 1932, p. 140.
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on 8 June 1769, and received his Medical Doctor degree there on 20 June 1769. His thesis concerns the
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John Coakley Lettsom was born into the Quaker community on the island of Little Jost Van Dyke in the
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Lettsom, John Coakley. The Naturalist's and Traveller's Companion, first published in 1772
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settlement. The son of a West Indian planter and an Irish mother, he grew up to be an
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168:. His studies were interrupted by the death of his father, prompting his return to
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Sambrook Court: the letters of J.C. Lettsom at the Medical Society of London
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article by J.F. Payne 'Lettsom, John Coakley (1744–1815)', rev. Roy Porter,
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Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland
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was Joseph Hooper, who largely forgotten today, was also a founder of the
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by Nancy and Simon Scott. Cruising Guide Publications, Inc., 2008 p. 94.
855:"Transactions & studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia"
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Album Studiosorum Academiae Lugduno Batavae MDLXXV-MDCCCLXXV, kol. 1097.
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204:. It was Joseph Hooper who brought Lettsom's children into the world.
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National Union Catalogue: NL 0302108; NcD-Mc; PPC; DNLM; TU; MH-A.
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Lettsom is reported to have written the following about himself:
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Lettsom, His Life, Times, Friends and Descendants, published 1933
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By the age of 30 Lettsom's reputation as a physician, author and
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The 2009–2011 Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands, 14th Edition
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For at least some of his years working in London, he lived in
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Diseases of Great Towns and the Best Means of Preventing them
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Koninklijke Bibliotheek Centrale Catalogus: UBL: 239 D 3 17.
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286:, female industry, provision for the blind, a bee society,
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in 1787. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the
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by Richard Woodman. Sheridan House, Inc., 2000, p. 30.
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Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade
89:) was an English physician and philanthropist born on
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Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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985:History of Medicine: The Medical Society of London
828:"Details from listed building database (1378433)"
249:was established. Furthermore, he had founded the
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463:The naturalist's and traveller's companion, 1774
237:Lettsom's career accelerated with membership of
993:Tales of Tortola and the British Virgin Islands
294:, while condemning quackery, card parties, and
930:Her Own Woman: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
1132:Members of the American Philosophical Society
881:American Philosophical Society Member History
800:. Lettsom Gardens Association. Archived from
1017:Postgraduate Medical Journal 2004;80:350–354
932:by DIANE JACOBS. Simon & Schuster, ch. 2
438:. Lettsom then set up a medical practice on
1028:"Lettsom, John Coakley, M.D. F.R.S. F.A.S."
1038:Three poems in the 'Camberwell' sequence:
398:attributes similar words to the fictional
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212:Lettsom's villa at Grove Hill, Camberwell
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987:. London: Postgraduate Medical Journal.
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974:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
911:. American Academy of Arts and Sciences
906:"Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter L"
414:Sometime they live, sometimes they die,
14:
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1082:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
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352:and others intent on social reform.
331:American Academy of Arts and Sciences
273:(1791), became a pillar of the Royal
144:The house where J.C. Lettsom was born
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1127:British Virgin Islands slave owners
388:If, after that, they please to die,
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1022:A quaker viewpoint on John Lettsom
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833:National Heritage List for England
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476:. London: E. and C. Dilly (1774).
410:When people's ill, they come to I,
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1087:British Virgin Islands physicians
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773:The Secret History of Our Streets
412:I physics, bleeds and sweats 'em;
261:. He was a founder member of the
188:Lettsom became a close friend of
27:English philanthropist, 1744–1815
976:, Oxford University Press, 2004
386:Blisters, bleeds and sweats 'em.
344:clustered round a green and its
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885:American Philosophical Society
775:. Episode 2. 13 June 2012. BBC
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327:American Philosophical Society
225:, 'The Hermitage' (number 220
85:(1744 – 1 November 1815, also
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375:) painted by Lettsom in 1757
173:Lettsom matriculated at the
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983:Hunting, Penelope (2004) .
529:GPX (secondary coordinates)
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325:Lettsom was elected to the
247:Fellow of the Royal Society
239:Royal College of Physicians
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217:In 1779 he bought land in
196:. A fellow founder of the
1034:. 1816. pp. 203–204.
524:GPX (primary coordinates)
499:Map all coordinates using
426:Lettsom was also a noted
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348:. There he met the young
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107:Medical Society of London
72:Medical Society of London
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1122:Leiden University alumni
978:accessed 27 October 2015
507:Download coordinates as:
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318:for a treatise entitled
265:in 1774, initiated the
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663:51.46577°N 0.08314°W
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567:51.47008°N 0.08619°W
369:ring-necked parakeet
340:, a village full of
263:Royal Humane Society
91:Little Jost Van Dyke
80:John Coakley Lettsom
36:John Coakley Lettsom
991:Florence Lewisohn,
804:on 26 February 2020
658: /
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434:, whom he promptly
350:Mary Wollstonecraft
316:Fothergillian Prize
166:St Thomas' Hospital
769:"Camberwell Grove"
668:51.46577; -0.08314
620:51.46659; -0.08140
572:51.47008; -0.08619
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390:I, John Lettsome.
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342:English Dissenters
251:General Dispensary
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626:"Lettsom Gardens"
384:I, John Lettsome,
365:The Ring Parakeet
312:Henry Clutterbuck
255:Aldersgate Street
190:Benjamin Franklin
185:of the tea-tree.
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861:22 November
666: /
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472:. He wrote
300:Hans Sloane
267:Sea-bathing
179:Netherlands
131: 1786
1066:Categories
808:6 December
690:References
672: (
650:51°27′57″N
624: (
602:51°28′00″N
576: (
554:51°28′12″N
454:Entomology
436:manumitted
219:Camberwell
158:Lancashire
839:5 October
798:"History"
653:0°04′59″W
605:0°04′53″W
557:0°05′10″W
333:in 1788.
275:Jennerian
70:Founding
1043:(2020).
480:See also
290:and the
257:and the
223:cottages
87:Lettsome
915:28 July
712:XIII.2.
440:Tortola
271:Margate
177:in the
170:Tortola
93:in the
1051:
995:(1966)
857:. 1965
432:slaves
356:Humour
233:Career
99:Quaker
909:(PDF)
492:Notes
1049:ISBN
970:ODNB
917:2014
892:2020
863:2014
841:2013
810:2020
781:2013
722:81*.
192:and
118:Life
59:Died
54:1744
51:Born
514:KML
253:in
83:FRS
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789:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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