John Radcliffe 1652-1714 F. 1687

From the studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller

Three-quarter length, seated slightly to right; his right hand spread open on his breast, his left hand, gloved, holding the other glove, and planted on his thigh ; very long greyish brown periwig; grey eyes; brown velvet coat with gilt buttons; a letter lying on the red-covered table to right, with an inscription: This/to Dr. Ratcliffe; dark background.

<span class="wrapper"><p>The original of this portrait is probably that in the Radcliffe Camera at Oxford, given by George Clarke, to whom it was given by Radcliffe in exchange for his own portrait. An inscription, said to be on the back of the Camera picture, gives its date as 1712; Vertue, however, who engraved it in 1719, puts the date of painting as 1710. (There are several later engravings of the same type, by Fourdrinier, M. Varr der Gucht and others.) Painted versions are to be found in the Bodleian (said to be a copy by Dahl), in the Radcliffe Infirmary and at University College, Oxford.* There is also a drawing by Byng in the British Museum, and a miniature by Richter of the same type. The College painting was exhibited at Leeds in 1868.</p> <p>Memorial statues are in the Radcliffe Camera (by Rysbrack) and at University College (by Bird)</p> <p>* Kneller was a neighbour of Radcliffe's in Great Queen Street; for an anecdote illustrating their relationship see Walpole, Anecdotes of English Painting, (1862 edition), p. 593.</p></span>

Presented to the College in 1764 by Dr. Jenner, who stated that it had been given to his father by the sitter.

John Radcliffe was born at Wakefield in Yorkshire and at thirteen entered University College, Oxford. He was elected a Fellow of Lincoln College in 1670 and was appointed lecturer in logic and philosophy. Meanwhile, he had turned to science and medicine. He seems to have studied in an erratic way (he boasted that a few phials, a skeleton and a herbal constituted his library) although at this time the University itself provided only a perfunctory training in medicine, as Sydenham and other progressive physicians complained. Radcliffe had to resign his fellowship after a quarrel with the rector of Lincoln, but he had already made a successful start in practice in Oxford. He was not a great scholar but he was an acute observer of symptoms and was particularly happy in the treatment of disease. His shrewdness in diagnosis and the originality of his methods earned him a wide reputation, although they also antagonized more orthodox members of the profession.

In 1684 he was encouraged by his success to move to London, where he was helped by the openings left by the death of one physician and the fall from political favour of another. Radcliffe quickly rose to be the most popular physician of his time, earning an enormous income. His practice included highly distinguished people, among whom were Newton, Pope, Swift, the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of London, besides many of the nobility. He was frequently consulted by the royal family and became physician to Princess Anne of Denmark, but later lost her favour by neglecting to come when she sent for him. He attended King William many times. Queen Mary's death from smallpox in 1694 was blamed on Radcliffe, but in fact he was called in too late to do anything, and he condemned the traditional treatment which had been used for the Queen.

Many of the anecdotes recorded about Radcliffe show the capricious and out spoken side of his nature. In 1699, when William showed him his ankles, which were swollen though the rest of his body was emaciated, and asked "What think you of these?" "Why, truly," replied Radcliffe, "I would not have Your Majesty's two legs for your three kingdoms". This finally and irretrievably lost him the King's favour. The Annals testify that he was often at issue with the College authorities, chiefly over his non-attendance. However, Radcliffe was also unjustly accused; he was blamed for refusing to attend Queen Anne in her last illness, but he was himself mortally ill and knew, too, that the Queen was hostile to him. Nevertheless, the outcry was extreme and Radcliffe was threatened with assassination.

He was a large-minded, independent and generous man, loyal to his friends. His generosity was shown in his magnificent bequests to medicine and to Oxford. In his will he left his Yorkshire estates and some £45,000 to University College, Oxford, and large sums to St. Bartholomew's Hospital; from large trust funds from his other estates, the Radcliffe Library, Observatory and Infirmary were established in Oxford and £2,000 was provided towards the College's building in Pall Mall. There were also personal acts of generosity, as when he sent money to an impoverished and sick barrister with the explanation "I have never been such a Niggard as to prefer Mountains of Gold to the Conversation of a Person that gives Gaiety even to Old Age and Vivacity of temper to the most Splenetic".