author

R. T. Claridge

Best known for popularizing the 19th-century “water cure,” this English writer helped bring hydropathy to a wider public through lectures and practical health books. He also had an unexpectedly varied career, with ties to both the militia and early asphalt paving.

1 Audiobook

Every Man His Own Doctor

Every Man His Own Doctor

by R. T. Claridge

About the author

Richard Tappin Claridge, usually published as R. T. Claridge, was a 19th-century English author remembered mainly for writing about hydropathy, or the cold-water cure. Sources describe him as Captain Richard Tappin Claridge, FSA, and place his life around 1797 or 1799 to August 5, 1857.

Before and alongside his writing, he was active in very different fields: he served as a captain in the Middlesex Militia, and he was also involved in the early use of asphalt in Britain. Even so, his lasting literary reputation comes from his energetic promotion of hydropathy in the 1840s, including works such as Hydropathy; or, The Cold Water Cure and Every Man His Own Doctor.

His books aimed to make health ideas accessible to ordinary readers, which helps explain why they still turn up in digital libraries and historical collections today. While the medical claims of hydropathy belong to their era, his work remains a window into Victorian self-help, wellness culture, and popular medicine.