Benjamin Moseley

?-1819

Vol II

Pg 368

b.? d.25 September 1819

MD St And(1784) LRCP(1787)

This biography is part of a series of historical obituaries, originally published in print. As products of their time periods, some biographies contain language which is inappropriate and offensive and present biased accounts of physicians’ lives and work that do not disclose unethical and discriminatory behaviour. As an establishment organisation, the RCP, its members, and the way they are written about, have often reflected societal power structures that favour dominant groups. We aim to redress these biases through ongoing work.

Below is the biography as originally published in 1878.

Benjamin Moseley, M.D., was descended from an ancient family in Lancashire, but was born in Essex. He received his professional education in London and Paris. On its completion he embarked for Jamaica, and soon after his arrival was appointed surgeon-general of the island. He remained there some years, attained a high reputation, and accumulated a considerable fortune. Returning to England, he obtained the degree of doctor of medicine from the university of St. Andrew’s 12th May, 1784. In the following year he settled in London as a physician, and was admitted a Licentiate of the College 2nd April, 1787. On the death of Dr. Monsey, 1788, he was appointed, through the influence of lord Mulgrave, physician to Chelsea hospital, an office which he filled with the highest èclât for more than thirty years. Dr. Moseley died at Southend 25th September, 1819. His remains were interred at Chelsea. Though a shrewd practitioner, and undeniably a man of extensive mental capacity and very considerable attainments, Dr. Moseley was a violent opponent of vaccination. His communications on this subject to the periodical press were incessant. They did little credit to his medical penetration or his qualifications as a dispassionate searcher after truth, and, happily for his reputation, are now well-nigh forgotten. His published works are—
Observations on the Properties and Effects of Coffee. 8vo. Lond. 1775.
A Treatise on Tropical Diseases; on Military Operations; and on the Climate of the West Indies. 8vo. Lond. 1787.
A Treatise on Sugar. 8vo. Lond. 1799.
A Treatise on the Lues Bovilla, or Cow-pox. 8vo. Lond. 1801.
On Hydrophobia, its Prevention and Cure. 8vo. Lond. 1808.
A Review of the Report of the Royal College of Physicians of London on Vaccination. 8vo. Lond. 1808.

William Munk

Post publication addition

A Treatise on Tropical Diseases; and on the Climate of the West-Indies promoted theories of scientific racism. Moseley was a physician in Jamaica during the period when slavery was legalised and profited indirectly from enslavement, earning a considerable sum as a colonial doctor.

Villarosa L. Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery - and are still believed by doctors today. New York Times Magazine (2019) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html [Accessed December 2024]

Battie, William (bap.1703, d.1776 ) Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/1715 [Accessed December 2024]

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