John Moore (Scottish physician)

Infobox Person
name = John Moore


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birth_date = 1729
birth_place = Stirling, Scotland
death_date = 21 January 1802
death_place = London, England
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occupation = Physician , Author
children = General Sir John Moore
Admiral Sir Graham Moore
Dr. James Moore

John Moore (1729 - 21 January 1802) was a Scottish physician and writer.

He was born at Stirling, the son of a clergyman. After taking his medical degree at Glasgow, he served with the army in Flanders during the Seven Years' War, then proceeded to London to continue his studies, and eventually to Paris, where he was attached to the household of the British ambassador. In 1792 he accompanied Lord Lauderdale to Paris, and witnessed some of the principal scenes of the Revolution. His "Journal during a Residence in France" (1793) is the careful record of an eye-witness, and is frequently referred to by Carlyle. He died in London on 21 January 1802.

Literary works

His novel "Zeluco" (1789), a close analysis of the motives of a selfish profligate, produced a great impression at the time, and indirectly, through the poetry of Byron, has left an abiding mark on literature. Byron said that he intended Childe Harold to be a poetical Zeluco, and the most striking features of the portrait were undoubtedly taken from that character. Moore's other works have a less marked individuality, but his sketches of society and manners in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and England ("A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland and Germany") furnish valuable materials for the social historian. "Mordaunt. Character Sketches of Life, Characters, and Manners, in Various Countries; including the Memoirs of A French Lady of Quality" was a powerfully written anti-French Revolution novel in three volumes in the form of 34 character sketches of famous politicians, royalty, generals, the wealthy, and the celebrity of the day. It also offers detailed eyewitness accounts of John Moore's observations as he travelled throughout Europe in the last years of the 1700's. There are gripping accounts of the heroic feats of a dashing British Officer included, which were actually accounts of John Moore's son, General Moore. This novel is very difficult to find on the world market today, all three volumes in private collections nearly impossible.

Family

He had five sons, of whom the eldest was General Sir John Moore. His other sons included Dr. James Carrick Moore (1763-1834), who wrote "The Life of Lieutenant General Sir John Moore", and some important medical works, and Sir Graham Moore (1764-1843), who saw much active naval service and became an admiral.

References

*1911