John Hyacinth de Magellan (1722-90): 18th century physicist with views on medical matters.

John Hyacinth de Magellan, whose Portuguese name was João Hyacintho de Magalhaens, though not a doctor nevertheless had many contacts with doctors and showed a genuine interest in disseminating medical news to his many friends and correspondents in Europe. The abundant and less formal correspondence with his friend Ribeiro Sanches forms the greater part of the work but in letters to other correspondents, including Trudaine de Montigny, Condorcet, Volta, J A Euler, Fabroni and Johann III Bernoulli, we find comments on medical subjects. The Sanches letters are particularly interesting because they are private, friend-to-friend letters that convey spontaneous and sincere thoughts and feelings.