Baillie, Matthew

10/27/1761–9/23/1823
SCOTTISH
PHYSICIAN

Over the course of his career, Matthew Baillie worked as a physician, lecturer, and author. While he worked at both St. George's Hospital and in his own private practice, he also served as the physician for many members of the royal family, including King George III.

Born in Lanarkshire in 1761, Baillie attended the University of Glasgow. In pursuit of a career in medicine, he moved to London to live with and study under his uncle William Hunter, the celebrated anatomist. At Hunter's home Baillie attended public lectures and was given private instruction by his uncle. In London he also attended Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1786. Three years later he received an M.D. from the school as well, and became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

In 1787 Baillie was hired as a physician at St. George's Hospital, where he worked for a number of years. During this time, he also gave many lectures on various medical subjects. At the age of 36, Baillie left St. George's and devoted himself exclusively to his private medical practice. In this capacity, he became the physician of King George III, Princess Amelia, and Princess Charlotte. Baillie also continued to serve both wealthy and poor patients alike.

Baillie is perhaps best known as the author of The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body, published in 1793. The book is credited with establishing morbid anatomy as an independent science. In it Baillie provides the first clinical descriptions of cirrhosis of the liver, gastric ulcers, and chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema, and gives one of the clearest descriptions written about the pulmonary lesions of tuberculosis.