1761-1823

Scottish Physician, Pathologist and Anatomist

Matthew Baillie wrote the first book on pathological anatomy as a separate science. His studies advanced the knowledge of diseases of the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, ovaries, and kidneys.

Baillie was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of Rev. James Baillie, later professor of divinity at the University of Glasgow, and Dorothy Hunter Baillie, the sister of prominent anatomists and surgeons John and William Hunter (1728-1793 and 1718-1783, respectively). He attended grammar school and Latin school in Hamilton, Scotland, then entered the University of Glasgow at the age of 13. In 1779 he was named a Snell Exhibitioner at Balliol College, Oxford University.

After Baillie's father died, his mother asked his uncle William to take charge of the boy's upbringing. In 1780 Baillie moved to London to live with his uncle. He studied anatomy and surgery with both Hunters, chemistry and...