author
Donald Monro
1727–1802
An 18th-century Scottish physician and medical writer, he built a career in London while helping shape military medicine. His books on soldiers’ health, dropsy, and materia medica made practical medical knowledge more widely available.
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About the author
Born in Edinburgh in 1727, he was the second son of the anatomist Alexander Monro primus and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, earning his M.D. in 1753. He soon moved to London, where he became a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and later served as physician to St George’s Hospital.
He is especially remembered for his work in military medicine. Monro served as physician to the British Army and wrote about the management of military hospitals and the prevention of disease among soldiers, aiming to make medicine more useful in the real conditions of camp and hospital life.
Alongside his medical practice, he was a busy author. His published works included an early study on dropsy as well as later writing on medical and pharmaceutical chemistry and materia medica. He died in London in 1802, leaving behind a reputation as a practical physician and a clear medical writer.