Profession: surgeon

Hunter transformed the art of surgery, giving it a firm scientific basis, and anticipated the scientific understanding of fossils and geological time. Pott and Cheselden taught him, while he taught Jenner, who became a friend for life, and Carlisle. He chaired the scientific group meeting at Slaughter’s Coffee House (Banks, Maskelyne, Solander, Cook, Smeaton, et al.), sent Boulton a figure of Death, and treated his neighbour Reynolds (and Gainsborough) gratis. He assisted his brother William, dined with Smollett, sent Banks his paper about fish’s ears, and was friends with Hume, Franklin and Haydn (offering to operate on Haydn, Haydn declined).

Cheselden did much to raise surgery to a profession, and published an influential anatomy of the human body (written in English instead of the usual Latin, and with each bone in the adult skeleton reproduced life-size). Sloane and Pope were good friends, and Haller met him when he visited London. He studied under Cowper, gave surgical training to Hunter, and helped look after Newton during his final illness, advising against invasive surgery.