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William Hewson
Anatomist

William Hewson

Famoose for

Investigating blood clotting and the structure of blood cells.

Fibrin · Red blood cells

Born
14 November 1739
Birthplace
Hexham
Died
1 May 1774

More people

Florence NightingaleHelping establish modern professional nursing.Alexander FlemingDiscovering penicillin’s antibacterial effect.Edward JennerDeveloping smallpox vaccination using material from cowpox.

William Hewson

William Hewson was a British surgeon and experimental anatomist associated with early haematology.

Early life

Training

Studied at Newcastle Infirmary and Edinburgh and worked as William Hunter’s pupil and assistant.

Career

  1. 1769

    Copley Medal

    Received the Royal Society’s award.

  2. 1770

    Royal Society

    Was elected a fellow.

  3. 1772

    Anatomy school

    Opened a school at London’s Craven Street.

Contributions

Fibrin

Separated a substance central to the clotting process.

Red blood cells

Showed that red cells were disc-shaped rather than spherical.

Beyond research

Family

Married Mary Stevenson in 1770; the family had close ties with Benjamin Franklin.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Artistic portrait; Vandergucht; H. Robinson. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.