Nathan Paget
Encyclopedia
Life
He was the son of Thomas Paget, rector of StockportStockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, Cheshire, and nephew of John Paget
John Paget
John Paget was an English nonconforming clergyman, who became pastor at the English Reformed Church, Amsterdam.-Life:He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, proceeding B.A. in 1595, and M.A. in 1598. After having held some other benefices, he was appointed in 1598 rector of Nantwich....
, and was born at Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1615. He graduated M.A. at Edinburgh, and on 25 November 1638 entered as a student of medicine at the University of Leyden, where he graduated M.D. 3 August 1639.
He began practice in England, outside London, and was admitted an extra licentiate of the College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
of London 4 April 1640. He was incorporated M.D. at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
3 June 1642, and was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians 4 November 1646. He was nominated physician to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
by the council of state of the Commonwealth on 31 December 1649. He was one of the seven physicians who aided Francis Glisson
Francis Glisson
Francis Glisson was a British physician, anatomist, and writer on medical subjects. He did important work on the anatomy of the liver, and he wrote an early pediatric text on rickets...
in the observations preparatory to the publication of the Tractatus de Rachitide (on rickets
Rickets
Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...
) in 1650. He was a censor of the College of Physicians in 1655, 1657, 1659, 1669, and 1678, and he delivered the Harveian oration
Harveian Oration
The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feast on St...
in 1664.
He lived in Coleman Street, and was a parishioner of John Goodwin, whose works he owned. Paget was a friend of John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, whose third wife Elizabeth Minshull was his cousin - they met through Paget. Around the same period he also found Thomas Ellwood
Thomas Ellwood
Thomas Ellwood was an English religious writer.He was born in Oxfordshire, the son of a rural squire. Educated at Lord Williams's School, he later joined the Quakers and became a friend of William Penn and John Milton. However, he was persecuted for his faith and spent some time in prison. His...
as reader for the blind Milton, in 1662. The earliest biography of Milton is anonymous: Paget has been suggested as the author.
Paget's library was celebrated, and contained over 2,000 titles. According to Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill (historian)
John Edward Christopher Hill , usually known simply as Christopher Hill, was an English Marxist historian and author of textbooks....