Six Discourses

Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet, PRS (1707-1782) was a Scottish physician who has been called the "father of military medicine," although Ambroise Paré (1510-1590) and Jonathan Letterman (1824-1872) have also been accorded this sobriquet. After finishing his studies, Pringle settled in Edinburgh at first as a physician, but between 1733 and 1744 was also Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh University. In 1742 he became physician to the Earl of Stair, then commanding the British army in Flanders. In November 1772 he was elected President of the Royal Society, a position he held until 1778. In this capacity he delivered six discourses, which were afterwards collected into a single volume. These six discourses, which were presented "on occasion of six annual assignments of Sir Godfrey Copley's medal," discussed a great variety of subjects, including "different kinds of air," the torpedo, and the preservation of the health of mariners.