Daniel Le Clerc

Daniel Le Clerc (or Daniel Leclerc) (1652-1728) was a medical writer of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He wrote the seminal Histoire de la Medecine, and co-edited the equally groundbreaking text Bibliotheca Anatomica with Jean-Jacques Manget.^[1]

Life

Le Clerc was born in Geneva on February 4th, 1652. As a student he traveled to Paris, Valence, and Montpellier, to study medicine, eventually returning to Geneva to begin his professional practice. Leclerc was the author of a number of books, though it is the Histoire de la Medecine which made his reputation. The work was unique in its time in that it went beyond merely describing the current state of medical knowledge, but delved in detail into the history of medical knowledge from the ancient world until contemporary times, and gave special emphasis to ancient Greek medicine.^[2] It is widely considered a classic and has been translated and reprinted many times in the centuries since its publication.^[1]

Le Clerc later became interested in politics in his native city, and was elected to the Grand Council of Geneva in 1701, a position that he held until his death in 1728.^[1]

Notes