inoculations from cases of what he called pearl smallpox caused mild affections difficult to distinguish from those cowpox. In 1804, Adams received an inheritance that allowed him to indulge his taste for study, and also philanthropy. His attachment to his profession was ardent. He delivered several lecture courses, and edited the London Medical and Physical Journal for many years. Death He died on 20 June 1818, at the age of 62, following a compound fracture of the leg. He is buried in Bunhill Fields, with the simple motto, "Vir Justus et bonus," inscribed on his tomb. He was survived by his widow, Ann (1765/6–1838). Legacy Adams has been described by science historians as a forgotten founder of medical genetics and the first clinical geneticist. In 1814, he authored A Treatise on the Supposed Hereditary Properties of Diseases, based on years of clinical research. Adams was an early (albeit forgotten) anticipator of evolution. Anthropologist Kenneth M. Weiss has written: Darwin and Wallace were, to the best of my knowledge, wholly unaware of Adams, though in many ways he was ahead of them in time. He had a clearer understanding of the nature of the hereditary mechanisms underpinning evolution, even if, as a physician, he did not discuss the transmutation of species. Works He published the following works: Observations on Morbid Poisons, Phagedaena, and Cancer. Lond. 8vo. Second edit. 1807. 4to. The singular title of this work derives from Mr. Hunter's division of poisons into the natural and the diseased—those that belong to a healthy animal with no ill effect to that animal, and those that result from disease and can spread to other individuals. He treats, among other diseases of Leprosy, or the Elephantiasis of the ancients, the Elephantiasis of the moderns, or the Barbadoes Leg, and the Lepra Graecorum, &c. He also gives an account of the Acarus Syro (Exulcerans of Linnaeus), called the Itch Insect by some (itch mite). During this research, he inoculated himself and family members with the insect to prove the itch and the disease from the Acarus were distinct from each other. To comprehend more precisely the nature of the Sibbens or Sivvens, he made a journey into Dumfries-shire and produced a good summary on the subject. Observations on the Cancerous Breast. Lond. 1801. 8vo. Second edit. 1805. He regards the existence of cysts or hydatids, possessed of a life independent of the subject they