author
Benjamin Moseley
1742–1819
An English physician who built his career between Jamaica and London, he wrote widely on tropical disease, sugar, and coffee. He is also remembered for becoming an early and outspoken opponent of smallpox vaccination.
1 Audiobook
A treatise concerning the properties and effects of coffee
by Benjamin Moseley
About the author
Born in Essex in 1742, Benjamin Moseley studied medicine in London and Paris before beginning practice in Kingston, Jamaica, in the late 1760s. His years in the Caribbean shaped much of his writing, especially on tropical disease and plantation medicine, and helped establish his reputation as a successful and energetic physician.
After returning to Britain, he practiced in London and became physician to the Royal Hospital Chelsea. He published several medical works, including books on tropical diseases as well as treatises on sugar and coffee, showing the wide range of subjects that interested him.
Moseley is now most often noted for his strong opposition to vaccination against smallpox in the early 19th century. He died on September 25, 1819, leaving behind a career that was both influential and controversial.