Davy, who investigated the properties of nitrous oxide in its laboratory. The original aim of the institution was gradually abandoned; it became a general hospital, and was relinquished by its founder in the year before his death. By the time Beddoes retired from practice in 1807, he estimated that his institution had treated over ten thousand patients. Political Beliefs Beddoes became an outspoken supporter of the French Revolution in its early years. He considered the republic the best political system, having observed the corruption and partisanship of the British Parliament. However, even while sympathizing with democratic protest, Beddoes feared popular insurrection and mob violence. Beddoes was a friend of several members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, a society of prominent Enlightenment figures. Following the Priestley Riots of 1791, Beddoes publicly voiced his opposition to the 'Church and King' riots, his sympathies with France, his admiration for French scientists and social scientists, and his opposition to the war. In 1792, he was investigated by the Home Office on suspicions of “sowing sedition” by distributing political Pamphlets that spoke out against the establishment and for his connections to the Lunar Society and allegedly, the Erasmus Darwin's Derby Philosophical Society. Selected writings Besides the writings mentioned above, Beddoes was also associated with the following: Chemical Essays by Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1786) translator An Account of some Appearances attending the Conversion of cast into malleable Iron. In a Letter from Thomas Beddoes, M. D. to Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. P.R.S. (Phil. Trans. Royal Society, 1791) Political Pamphlets (1795–1797) In this work (p. 4), Beddoes makes the first recorded use of the word Biology in its modern sense. Essay on Consumption (1799) Essay on Fever (1807) Beddoes edited the second edition of John Brown's Elements of Medicine (1795), and also translated a selection of Johann Karl August Musäus' Volksmärchen der Deutschen into English as Popular Tales of the Germans (1791). References Citations Sources Further reading – essay reprinted in A Jacques Barzun Reader (2002) External links 18th-century English medical doctors 19th-century English medical doctors 1760 births 1808 deaths People educated at Bridgnorth Endowed School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Shifnal