Parkinson's disease is named after James Parkinson, who provided a detailed description of what he termed "shaking palsy" in an essay published in 1817. Parkinson was also the first to recognize a perforated appendix as a cause of death.

Parkinson was born in 1755, son of a surgeon and apothecary who ran his practice in London, England. Parkinson's early education included Latin, Greek, natural philosophy and shorthand--all subjects he considered indispensable to a doctor's basic training. It is believed that Parkinson took over the medical practice before his father died in 1784.

The following year, Parkinson attended a surgical lecture series by John Hunter, considered the founder of pathological anatomy in England and a researcher with wide interests in biology and medical science. Over his career, Parkinson developed similarly broad interests. In addition to his medical work, he wrote about chemistry, geology, sports, and with special influence, about paleontology (the science...