Lind, James (1716-1794)

Scottish physician. Apprenticed to a surgeon at the age of 15, eight years later he entered the Royal Navy as a surgeon. He was the founder of British naval hygiene. He discovered that drinking lemon or lime juice prevented scurvy, caused by the lack of Vitamin C.

He was born in Edinburgh. In 1748 he left the navy, took his MD at Edinburgh and set up in practice. Ten years later he left to become physician of Haslar naval hospital, where he worked for 25 years. During his service at sea he discovered the true nature of scurvy. After publication of his classical Treatise of the Scurvy (1753), the disease was eventually eradicated from the navy. The book was reprinted in 1953. Lind's ‘Essay on the Most Effectual Means of Preserving the Health of Seamen in the Royal Navy’ (1757) advocated measures to improve ships' ventilation and prevent the spread of disease aboard. He also wrote ‘Essay on Diseases Incidental to Europeans in Hot Climates’ (1768).