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He was born at Voorhout near Leiden. Entering the University of Leiden he took his degree in philosophy in 1689, with a dissertation De distinctione mentis a corpore, in which he attacked the doctrines of Epicurus, Thomas Hobbes and Spinoza. He then turned to the study of medicine, in which he graduated in 1693 at Harderwijk in GelderlandGelderland (English also Guelders is a province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Gelderland was a duchy in the Hol. In 1701Events January 18 Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. May 23 After being convicted of murdering William Moore and for piracy, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London. July 24 Detroit, Michigan founded. September 16 Prince James Francis Edward Stuart bec he was appointed lecturer on the institutes of medicine at Leiden; in his inaugural discourse, De commendando HippocratisHippocrates of Cos (c. 460 BC 380 BC) was an Ancient Greek physician, commonly regarded as one of the most outstanding figures in medicine of all time; he has been called the father of medicine. He was a physician from the so called medical school of Kos. studio, he recommended to his pupils that great physician as their model.
In 1709Events January 12 Two-month freezing period begins in France The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. 000 Parisians die February 2 Alexander Selkirk is rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robi he became professor of botanyBotany is the scientific study of plants. As a branch of biology, it is also sometimes referred to as plant science(s or plant biology . Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study the growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, dis and medicine, and in that capacity he did good service, not only to his own university, but also to botanical science, by his improvements and additions to the botanic garden of Leiden, and by the publication of numerous works descriptive of new species of plants. In 1714, when he was appointed rector of the university, he succeeded Govert Bidloo in the chair of practical medicine, and in this capacity he introduced the modern system of clinical instruction. Four years later he was appointed to the chair of chemistry also. In 1728Events Astronomical aberration discovered by the astronomer James Bradley Swedish academy of sciences founded at Uppsala Births February 21 Emperor Peter III of Russia, husband of Catherine the Great (+ 1762) August 28 John Stark, American Revolutionary W he was elected into the French Academy of Sciences, and two years later into the Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. The Royal Irish Academy, founded in 1782, is also closely affiliated with it. The Royal Society of Edinburgh (founded 1783) is a separate S of London. In 1729 declining health obliged him to resign the chairs of chemistry and botany; and he died, after a lingering and painful illness, at Leiden.
His genius so increased the fame of the University of Leiden, especially as a school of medicine, that it became popular with visitors from every part of Europe. All the princes of Europe sent him pupils, who found in this skilful professor not only an indefatigable teacher, but an affectionate guardian. When Peter the Great went to Holland in 1715, to instruct himself in maritime affairs, he also took lessons from Boerhaave. His reputation was not confined to Europe; a Chinese mandarin wrote him a letter directed "To the illustrious Boerhaave, physician in Europe," and it reached him in due course.
His principal works are: