Richard Hale

Richard Hale M.D. (1670–1728) was an English physician, elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1721. Life The eldest son of Richard Hale of New Windsor, Berkshire, he was born at Beckenham, Kent, in 1670. He entered Trinity College, Oxford, with his younger brother, Henry, in June 1689, where Thomas Sykes was his tutor. He graduated B.A. on 19 May 1693, M.A. on 4 February 1695, M.B. on 11 February 1697, and M.D. on 23 June 1701. Hale first was in practice in Oxford, where his use of opiates undermined his reputation. He settled in London, and was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians on 9 April 1716. He was three times a censor of the College. Mentored by Edward Tyson, Hale succeeded him as physician to the Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals (Bedlam) in 1708. As a clinician he was influenced by iatromechanics; his reputation, after his death, was for mild treatment of mental illness, for example by sedation, rather than physical restraints. He put in place a system for regulating admissions and discharges at Bethlem.