William Harvey

NAME William Harvey

WHAT FAMOUS FOR William Harvey was the English physician who discovered the circulation of the blood. His groundbreaking work Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis in Animalibus (1628) overturned centuries of medical theory and transformed the study of physiology.

BIRTH William Harvey was born on April 1, 1578 in Folkestone, Kent, England. He was born at a house in what is now Church Street, which later became the post-house. The exact location of his birthplace is marked by a memorial tablet unveiled in 1978.​

FAMILY BACKGROUND Harvey came from a relatively wealthy family. His father, Thomas Harvey, was a yeoman and successful businessman who later became Mayor of Folkestone, serving in that office in 1586, 1599, 1601, and 1611. Thomas was a farmer and landowner who achieved considerable prosperity. Harvey's mother was Joan Halke (or Hawke), daughter of Thomas Halke of Haslingleigh in Kent. The inscription on her monumental tablet in Folkestone church described her as a woman "of such mark and likelihood" that her moral portrait deserved to be left to posterity.​

William was the eldest of nine children—seven sons and two daughters. Five of his brothers—Thomas, Daniel, Eliab, Michael, and Matthew—became highly successful Turkey merchants trading with the Levant. His brother John served as one of the King's receivers for Lincolnshire and sat as a Member of Parliament for Hythe. Brother Eliab became particularly successful and managed William's financial affairs throughout his life, as William "took no manner of care about his worldly concerns". The two sisters were Sarah, who died young, and Anne (or Amy), whose fate is unknown.​ (1)

CHILDHOOD William Harvey spent his early childhood in Folkestone at the family home. Growing up by the sea in Folkestone, Harvey was curious and observant, traits that would serve him well in later life. His father’s success gave him access to a good education and the means to travel for study.

EDUCATION At age 10, he was sent to live with his uncle in Canterbury while attending the King's School (also called the King's Grammar School) in Canterbury from 1588 to 1593. During this time, he studied the classics, with Latin being essential for his future academic and professional career. The young Harvey showed sufficient promise to win a scholarship for further education.​

In May 1593, at age 15, he entered Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge having won a Matthew Parker scholarship, founded by the Archbishop of Canterbury to support someone born in Kent and educated at King's School to study medicine. This scholarship covered his living costs and tuition fees for six years. Harvey took his first degree in arts in 1597.​

After Cambridge, Harvey traveled through France and Germany before enrolling at the University of Padua in Italy in 1599, at age 21. Padua was then the most celebrated medical school in the world. At Padua, Harvey came under the profound influence of his teacher, Hieronymus Fabricius (Girolamo Fabrizi of Acquapendente), a skilled anatomist and surgeon. Fabricius had discovered valves in human veins in 1574, though he did not understand their function—a mystery Harvey would later solve. Interestingly, Galileo Galilei was also at Padua during Harvey's time there, having been teaching mathematics, physics, and astronomy for seven years.​

Harvey received his medical doctorate from Padua on April 25, 1602. He was an outstanding student who impressed his teachers with his abilities. After graduation, he returned to England, was incorporated at Cambridge, and began establishing himself as a physician in London.​

CAREER RECORD Harvey's professional career was distinguished and multifaceted. Initially, he faced some difficulty gaining admission to the Royal College of Physicians, having failed his first examination attempt in 1604. However, he was admitted as a Candidate of the College on October 5, 1604

1607: Harvey became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians on June 5, 1607.

1609: Appointed Physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, a post he held for many years, caring for the city's poor.

1615: Elected Lumleian Lecturer for the College of Physicians, a post requiring him to lecture on anatomy and surgery for a term of office. It was during these lectures in 1616 that he first publicly asserted his theory of blood circulation.

1618: Appointed Physician Extraordinary to King James I.

1625: Became Physician in Ordinary to King Charles I upon Charles's accession, a role that granted him close access to the King. He remained loyal to the King during the English Civil War.

1628: Published his most famous work, De Motu Cordis.

1642: The Civil War led to the Parliamentarians ransacking his London lodgings, resulting in the destruction of his research papers.

1651: Published his major work on embryology, Exercitationes de generatione animalium (On the Generation of Animals).

APPEARANCE Harvey was short, swarthy, and round-faced, with curly black hair, small eyes, and a Mediterranean complexion. John Aubrey, who knew Harvey personally, described his appearance in detail: "He was not tall; but of the lowest stature, round faced, olivaster [olive-toned] complexion; little Eie, round, very black, full of spirit, his haire was black as a Raven, but quite white 20 years before he dyed". 

Harvey's dark, intense eyes and raven-black hair (which turned completely white two decades before his death) gave him a striking appearance that matched his passionate temperament.​

William Harvey portrait attributed to Daniël Mijtens, c. 1627

FASHION As a physician of the Royal College and royal physician to the king, Harvey would have worn the formal medical costume of his era. Seventeenth-century physicians typically wore fur-lined gowns, caps, and often chains of office when serving at court. When in attendance upon King James I, physicians received special livery. 

CHARACTER Harvey possessed a complex and passionate character. Aubrey described him as "very Cholerique"—meaning quick to anger and irritable. This choleric temperament, recognized in the medical humoral theory of the time, characterized individuals as ambitious, decisive, aggressive, and short-tempered. Harvey's quick temper in his youth was evidenced by his readiness to draw his dagger "upon every slight occasion".​

Despite this volatility, Harvey was also deeply devoted to his scientific work and possessed remarkable intellectual rigor. He was described as a careful experimentalist who insisted on empirical observation over blind acceptance of ancient authorities. 

Harvey was also noted for being somewhat absent-minded about practical matters. Aubrey reported that Harvey "took no manner of care about his worldly concerns," relying entirely on his brother Eliab to manage his finances. This unworldliness suggests a man consumed by his intellectual pursuits rather than material concerns.​ 

His character also showed remarkable scientific integrity. When examining women accused of witchcraft in 1634, Harvey treated the case with an open mind and was willing to consider scientific explanations of the evidence, ultimately finding the alleged witches innocent at a time when belief in witchcraft was commonplace.​

SPEAKING VOICE Harvey's lecture notes and the accounts of his teaching suggest he was an engaging and effective communicator. His Lumleian lectures at the Royal College of Physicians were delivered in Latin, the scholarly language of the period. His teaching combined theoretical exposition with practical demonstrations through dissection, suggesting he could command attention and explain complex ideas clearly to his students.​

SENSE OF HUMOUR He had a sly, sardonic sense of humour, often teasing colleagues with good-natured wit.

Aubrey reported that Harvey "frequently remarked that 'Europeans know not how to order or govern their women' and that 'Turks are the only people who use them wisely'". This comment, delivered with apparent seriousness, reveals either Harvey's provocative nature or his dark humor, with Aubrey adding "The man was not a feminist!"​ (2)

Harvey's ability to remain calm under pressure also showed a certain sangfroid. At the Battle of Edgehill, while responsible for protecting the king's young sons during combat, Harvey took out a book to read while sheltering under a hedge—maintaining composure even as bullets grazed nearby. This combination of duty and detachment suggests someone who could find perspective even in dire circumstances.​

RELATIONSHIPS Harvey married Elizabeth Browne on November 24, 1604, shortly after being admitted to the Royal College of Physicians. Elizabeth was the daughter of Dr. Lancelot Browne, a physician to Queen Elizabeth I and James I, and a fellow of the College. This marriage alliance undoubtedly helped Harvey's career advancement.​

Harvey and Elizabeth appear to have been happy together. In his will, Harvey referred to her as "my dear deceased loving wife". However, they had no children. 

Elizabeth died sometime between 1645 and 1652. After her death, Harvey lived with his brother Eliab, first in London and later at Eliab's estates at Roehampton in Surrey and at Hempstead in Essex.​

Harvey enjoyed close professional relationships with many colleagues. He had a particularly warm relationship with King Charles I, who took a close interest in and encouraged Harvey's research. The king allowed Harvey to experiment on the royal herd of deer. 

William Harvey demonstrating to Charles I his theory of the circulation of the blood” by Robert Hannah 

Harvey also developed friendships with contemporaries including John Aubrey (who later wrote about him), Dr. Charles Scarborough (whom Harvey took under his wing at Oxford during the Civil War), and Sir Francis Bacon, whom he tended as a patient.​

MONEY AND FAME Harvey came from a prosperous family and accumulated considerable wealth during his lifetime, though largely through the financial management of his brother Eliab rather than his own efforts. His various positions—as physician at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Lumleian Lecturer at the Royal College, and royal physician— provided substantial income. His general practice was extensive, and his emoluments significant, as evidenced by his will.

Harvey's five merchant brothers were extremely wealthy, having made fortunes trading with Turkey and the Levant. Brother Eliab was particularly successful and managed William's finances. Aubrey noted that Eliab "ordered all not only faithfully, but better than he could have done for himself".​

Harvey was generous with his resources. He gave substantial donations to the Royal College of Physicians, including building and furnishing a library in 1651 (completed 1653-4) and donating his patrimonial estate at Burmarsh, Kent, in perpetuity to fund a librarian and annual oration. He also gave his birthplace property in Folkestone to Caius College, Cambridge. In his will, he made provisions for his servant and "a pretty young wench to wayte on him".​

Harvey achieved international fame during his lifetime, though not without controversy. His revolutionary theories initially damaged his practice, with many criticizing him for challenging traditional medical thought. However, by his later years, his reputation recovered significantly. After 1650, his fame was firmly established. He was commemorated with a statue by the Royal College of Physicians in 1652, even before his death.​

Bust of William Harvey at the Royal College of Physicians, London by The wub 

FOOD AND DRINK As a physician well-versed in humoral theory and Galenic medicine of his era, Harvey would have been familiar with the prevailing beliefs about food's effects on health and the balance of bodily humors, though he revolutionized understanding of how the body actually processed blood and nutrients.​

In later life, Harvey developed a fondness for coffee, a novel drink in England at the time. His brothers were among the country’s first coffee importers, giving him privileged access to what was then an exotic stimulant. (3)

Harvey bequeathed coffee worth £56 to the Royal College of Physicians instrucing that they should meet monthly and commemorate his death with coffee. 

MUSIC AND ARTS While Harvey was a man of the Scientific Revolution, he was also a product of the Renaissance's intellectual culture. He was a contemporary of major figures like Shakespeare and would have been exposed to the vibrant cultural life of London.

LITERATURE Harvey's lectures and writings show he was well-read in classical literature, frequently quoting from Aristotle, Galen, and other ancient authorities. In his treatise on generation, Harvey quoted extensively from Virgil's Georgics, using poetic imagery to discuss biological processes. 

Harvey's most famous work, De Motu Cordis, was published in 1628. It explained the discovery that he had made 12 years earlier, that blood in animals circulates. Despite its revolutionary importance, his practice initially suffered after publication, as Aubrey noted: "after his Booke of the Circulation of the Blood came out, that he fell mightily in this Pracitize, and that t'was believed by the vulgar that he was crack-brained."

Beyond De Motu Cordis (1628), he published De circulatione sanguinis (1649) and Exercitationes de generatione animalium (On Animal Generation, 1651). 

Harvey’s own writings were concise and analytical, influenced by classical learning and the emerging scientific method. He admired the precision of Latin scholars and wrote his key works in that language, with English translations appearing later.​

Harvey built a library for the Royal College of Physicians, demonstrating his commitment to learning and scholarship. Tragically, most of Harvey's manuscripts were destroyed when rioters looted his lodgings during the Civil War in 1642, when Harvey was 64 years old—"a severe trial for him". This loss deprived posterity of many of his writings and observations.​ 94)

NATURE Harvey's lifelong fascination was expressed most vividly through his study of comparative anatomy and animal physiology. His anatomical lecture notes mention more than 80 animal species, and his landmark De Motu Cordis describes 37 of them in detail, many of which he used in his experiments.

An experiment from Harvey's Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus

He based much of his work on direct observation of living creatures, conducting experiments on serpents, fish, and a host of other animals. Harvey often preferred cold-blooded species—or animals close to death—because their slower heart rates made it easier to watch the movement of blood. He was trained in Padua, where vivisection was common practice, and he brought that same spirit of careful, if sometimes unsettling, experimentation back to England.

King Charles I later granted him access to the royal deer herd, allowing Harvey to conduct his studies on reproduction. His dissections of deer from Windsor and Hampton Court reflected not only his curiosity but also a deep respect for the order of the natural world. In his embryological research, he recorded day-by-day observations of chick embryos, and he also studied ostriches, cassowaries, and even semi-transparent shrimp from the River Thames, whose visible circulation made them ideal test subjects.

PETS  Harvey's wife, Elizabeth, had a famous pet parrot known for its talking ability. Harvey described this bird at length in his work on generation. The parrot was "very familiar" with Elizabeth, displaying elaborate behaviors Harvey initially interpreted as masculine courtship—"mutterings and shaking of his wings," "familiarity and obsequiousness," "singing and talking". The parrot was permitted "to walk at liberty through the whole house" and liked to lay its head in Elizabeth's lap (gremium) to be stroked.​

When the parrot died "in Elizabeth's lap or bosom," Harvey performed an autopsy. To his surprise, he discovered the bird was female (contrary to his assumption based on its vocal and active behavior) and had a putrefying, corrupted egg retained in its uterus. Harvey used this case to compare avian reproductive pathology to conditions in unmarried women, particularly hysteria or "green sickness". This anecdote reveals Harvey's tendency to turn even personal losses into scientific learning opportunities, as well as providing a rare glimpse into his domestic life.​ (5) 

HOBBIES AND SPORTS His main passion was his scientific research through observation and experimentation, which consumed a vast amount of his time.

Outside of medicine, Harvey enjoyed conversation, travel, and study. His enthusiasm for coffee hints at a social, intellectual side—he likely enjoyed the early coffeehouse discussions that became synonymous with scientific debate in 17th-century London.

SCIENCE AND MATHS William Harvey’s name is synonymous with one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time — the discovery of the circulation of blood. In his 1628 treatise Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis in Animalibus (An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals), Harvey reasoned that blood pumped away from the heart could return only by way of the veins. At the time, the prevailing belief was that blood was freshly made and consumed by the body. Harvey proved it was recycled — circulating “round and round” rather than moving “in and out.”

His work also struck a blow to ancient Greek philosophy. Aristotle had taught that the intellect resided in the heart and that the brain’s purpose was to “cool” the blood. Harvey’s careful anatomical studies refuted these notions, establishing the heart as a mechanical pump.

However, his findings were too far ahead of their time. The circulation of blood could not be confirmed until the microscope improved decades later. Many of his contemporaries ridiculed him for his “crazy circulating theory,” and he was mocked as a heretic of medicine for most of his life. (3)

Harvey had profound respect for Aristotle, considering him "the chief of Philosophers" and "the supreme biologist". However, Harvey was no blind follower of ancient authority. In his Anatomical Exercises on the Generation of Animals, one of his first acts was to reject an Aristotelian conclusion as "erroneous and hasty," while still accepting Aristotle's general principles and methodology.​

Harvey's second major scientific contribution was in embryology. His Exercitationes de generatione animalium (1651) proposed the theory of "epigenesis"—that embryonic parts form in ordered sequence rather than existing preformed in miniature. He famously stated "ex ovo omnia" (all life comes from an egg). His detailed observations of chicken embryo development day-by-day discovered the cicatricula and demonstrated that blood was the first structure formed.​

Harvey's key mathematical argument concerned blood volume. He estimated the ventricles' volume, their efficiency in expelling blood, and heart rate, demonstrating that "even with conservative estimates, more blood passed through the heart than could possibly be accounted for based on the then current understanding". Harvey calculated the heart pumped 0.5-1 liter of blood per minute (modern values are about 4 liters per minute at rest). Since the human body contains only about 5 liters of blood total, it could not possibly produce or consume blood at the rate required by Galenic theory—therefore, blood must circulate.​

Harvey's experiments were methodical and clever. He used ligatures on the arm to demonstrate blood flow direction, showing that veins carry blood toward the heart and arteries away from it. He proved that venous valves (discovered by his teacher Fabricius) all face toward the heart, preventing backward flow. 

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Harvey was heavily influenced by the philosophy of Aristotle, particularly in his work on embryology (De Generatione Animalium), where he favoured observation-based reasoning. He combined scientific rigor with a deep-seated respect for natural phenomena and life itself.

Harvey was a nominal Anglican who conformed to the established Church of England, though there is scant evidence of deep personal faith. His years at Cambridge exposed him to Calvinist ideas, which may have influenced his belief in a divine order within nature. Harvey once remarked that through his dissections he could “see the workings of God’s sovereignty in creation.” (3)

Despite this, some scholars suggest Harvey harbored free-thinking tendencies. His view of nature as a system governed by mechanical laws rather than divine intervention foreshadowed the emerging scientific rationalism of the Enlightenment.

Regarding witchcraft, Harvey's position was nuanced. While he lived during the European witch hunts and apparently believed witches could exist, his scientific approach led him to examine evidence critically. In 1634, he examined four women accused of witchcraft and, finding no scientific evidence, declared them innocent—contrary to the expectations of their accusers and at a time when denying witches' existence was heresy. Harvey also dissected a toad alleged to be a demon, proving it was merely an ordinary amphibian. His approach represented scientific skepticism applied to superstition, though within the worldview that supernatural phenomena were theoretically possible.​

POLITICS Harvey was a staunch Royalist whose political loyalty profoundly affected his life and career. His allegiance to the Stuart monarchy was unwavering throughout the tumultuous period of the English Civil War.​

During the English Civil War, he was present at the Battle of Edgehill (1642) and was entrusted with the care of the young Princes (the King's sons). His political alignment led to his lodgings being ransacked by Parliamentarian forces.

After Oxford's surrender in 1646 and Charles I's eventual execution in 1649, Harvey returned to London and lived through the Commonwealth period. By 1650, despite his Royalist associations, his reputation was on the rise again. He focused his later energies on the Royal College of Physicians, though he lived to see neither the Restoration nor Charles II's return.​

Harvey's political philosophy, like his science, was influenced by Aristotelian concepts of natural order and hierarchy, though he kept such views within his professional and scientific work rather than engaging in overt political activism.​

SCANDAL After publishing De Motu Cordis in 1628, Harvey faced severe criticism for daring to challenge Galen, who had been considered the supreme authority on medicine for 1,500 years. Conservative doctors accused him of quackery. He was derisively nicknamed “The Circulator” — and worse, Harvey's private practice suffered significantly as patients lost faith in a doctor whose radical ideas seemed to contradict established medical wisdom.​

In Europe, his discoveries met with even greater skepticism and hostility. Leading figures including Descartes initially accepted then rejected Harvey's ideas. The theory was not widely accepted in medical textbooks until the late seventeenth century, after Marcello Malpighi's 1661 microscopic discovery of capillaries validated Harvey's theory.​

One potentially scandalous detail mentioned by Aubrey was that in old age, Harvey "kept a pretty young wench to wayte on him, which I guesse he made use of for warmeth-sake as king David did". However, Aubrey frames this as innocent companionship for warmth rather than suggesting impropriety, and Harvey provided for this woman in his will alongside his manservant.​

MILITARY RECORD Harvey's involvement in the English Civil War placed him in military situations due to his position as royal physician and his loyalty to King Charles I.

At the Battle of Edgehill on October 23, 1642, the first major battle of the Civil War, Harvey was responsible for the safety of the king's two young sons, Prince Charles (aged 12, the future Charles II) and Prince James (aged 9). Harvey sheltered with the princes under a hedge, remarkably taking out a book to read during the battle. He told his friend John Aubrey that "a bullet of a great gun grazed on the ground near him," forcing them to move to safer ground.​

William Harvey ‘caring’ for the princes at the Battle of Edgehill

After the battle, Harvey attended to the wounded. One wounded soldier he treated was Sir Gervase Scrope, who had been "dangerously wounded there, and left for dead amongst the dead men, stripped". Scrope survived the cold night because the frost stopped his bleeding, and he was later found and brought to Harvey for treatment. Scrope was fortunate to be treated by Harvey, "a famous doctor who knew a lot about bleeding"—ironic given that Harvey's theories would eventually undermine the traditional practice of bloodletting.​ (6)

Harvey accompanied the Royalist forces and Charles I to Oxford, the Royalist stronghold, where he remained from 1642 to 1646. At Oxford, he continued his scientific work while the war raged, and the king appointed him Warden of Merton College in 1645. Harvey "grew acquainted with Dr. Charles Scarborough, then a young physitian" at Oxford, taking him into his chamber and telling him "Prithee leave off thy gunning, and stay here; I will bring thee into practice"—suggesting Harvey disapproved of Scarborough's military activities and preferred to train him as a physician.​ (1)

MEDICAL CAREER If you were to list the great “Aha!” moments in human history — fire, the wheel, indoor plumbing, sliced bread — William Harvey’s discovery of blood circulation deserves a spot right up there. Before Harvey, people genuinely believed that blood was made fresh every few hours, like some sort of biological bakery product. Harvey, being of a more curious bent, decided this was nonsense and proved that blood actually goes round and round in a delightful and very efficient loop. It was, to put it mildly, a revelation — one that would make him one of the most influential physicians in history and the father of modern physiology.

Harvey’s adventure in medicine began at the University of Padua in Italy, which, at the time, was rather like the Harvard of anatomy — except with more cadavers and less coffee. He graduated in 1602 under the watchful eye of Hieronymus Fabricius, who had recently discovered the valves in veins but hadn’t quite figured out what they did. (Harvey would take that puzzle and run with it.)

Returning to England, he picked up a Doctor of Medicine degree from Cambridge University — because apparently one doctorate wasn’t enough — and joined the Royal College of Physicians in 1604. Three years later, he became a Fellow, which was as close as the 17th century got to getting tenure.

In 1609, he landed the post of Physician at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, where his weekly duties involved treating the poor, writing prescriptions, and keeping the apothecary in line. For all this, he was paid £33 a year and given two small houses in West Smithfield — not bad for the era, though one suspects it barely covered the cost of leeches.

Harvey’s star rose quickly. In 1615, he was appointed Lumleian Lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians — a lifetime gig that involved teaching anatomy to other doctors, many of whom fainted at the sight of their own scalpels. It was during these lectures, beginning in 1616, that Harvey first floated the outrageous idea that blood might, in fact, circulate.

By 1618, Harvey’s intellect (and perhaps his bedside manner) had impressed the royal court. He became Physician Extraordinary to King James I and later Physician in Ordinary to Charles I — a sort of early-modern NHS meets Buckingham Palace. Both kings encouraged his research, even letting him borrow royal animals for experiments. It’s not every scientist who can say, “I dissected the King’s deer.”

In 1628, he published Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus — mercifully known in English as On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals. It was a slim book but explosively heretical. For over a thousand years, physicians had followed the teachings of Galen, who thought blood seeped gently through invisible pores in the heart. Harvey’s findings demolished that idea. Blood, he declared, moved in a circle, propelled by the heart’s rhythmic contractions. The medical world gasped, crossed itself, and called him mad.

By 1629, Harvey had been made Treasurer of the Royal College of Physicians, proof that he was now respectable enough to handle other people’s money. He continued to lecture, publish, and infuriate colleagues until the English Civil War broke out.

In 1645, Harvey became Warden of Merton College, Oxford, courtesy of royal appointment. When not tending to his increasingly gout-ridden body, he devoted his later years to studying reproduction — publishing De Generatione Animalium (On the Generation of Animals) in 1651. In it, he dropped another bombshell: almost all living things come from eggs. Chickens everywhere rejoiced.

By 1654, his health was failing, and he politely declined the presidency of the Royal College of Physicians — the 17th-century equivalent of saying, “Thanks, but I’m retiring to the country.” He died three years later, in 1657, aged 79, of what appears to have been a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by gout.

Harvey’s legacy is immense. He took the mystery out of the human body and replaced it with mechanics, transforming medicine from medieval guesswork into a science of precision. Today, his name adorns hospitals, textbooks, and the occasional pub sign — fitting tributes to a man who once proved, against all odds and all logic of the time, that life really does go round in circles.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Harvey enjoyed good health through much of his long life but suffered from gout in his later years. This chronic condition likely contributed to the cerebral hemorrhage that caused his death in 1657. Despite his ailments, he remained mentally vigorous, working and corresponding on medical topics until shortly before his death.

HOMES His birthplace was in Folkestone, Kent, at a house in what is now Church Street that later became the post-house. The exact site is marked by a memorial tablet unveiled in 1978. This "faire stone-built house" was given by Harvey to Caius College, Cambridge, along with some lands there, as specified in his will. His brother Eliab wanted to keep the property "because 'twas his father's, and they all borne there," but Harvey believed "his memory would better be preserved this way".​ (1)

After establishing his medical practice in London, Harvey lived in various locations in the city. His lodgings were looted by rioters during the Civil War in 1642, resulting in the tragic loss of most of his manuscripts.​

During the Civil War years (1642-1646), Harvey resided in Oxford with the Royalist court. As Warden of Merton College from 1645, he would have occupied the Warden's lodgings at that college.​

In his later years, Harvey lived primarily with his brother Eliab, who had acquired substantial estates. Eliab owned properties at Roehampton in Surrey and at Hempstead in Essex (near Saffron Walden). The Hempstead property included Wincelow Hall (formerly Crouchmans manor), which Eliab purchased in 1647 along with Hempstead Hall and various other lands. Harvey died at Eliab's house in Roehampton 

Harvey also owned an estate at Burmarsh, Kent, which he donated to the Royal College of Physicians in perpetuity in 1656 to fund a librarian and annual oration.​

TRAVEL As a student, Harvey traveled extensively. After completing his first degree at Cambridge in 1597, he traveled through France and Germany before arriving in Italy. He studied at the University of Padua from 1599 to 1602, spending approximately three years in Italy. This Italian sojourn was formative, as Padua offered the finest medical education of the era.​

In 1630, Harvey received commands from the king to accompany the Duke of Lennox on an official trip abroad. The voyage lasted three years, taking him across France and Spain during turbulent times of war and plague. The experience broadened Harvey's understanding of medicine, disease, and human anatomy — knowledge that would later inform his research.

DEATH William Harvey died on June 3, 1657 at his brother Eliab's house in Roehampton, Surrey. He was 79 years old. The cause of death was a cerebral artery hemorrhage—a bleed in the brain, essentially what we would today call a stroke.​

After his death, Harvey was buried in the Harvey family vault at St. Andrew's Church in Hempstead, Essex, near Saffron Walden. His brother Eliab had built the "Harvey Mortuary Chapel with the outer vault below it" at this church. Harvey's burial place was chosen by his family, as he had specified Hempstead in his will.​

In 1883, the Royal College of Physicians provided a lead sarcophagus for Harvey's remains as a lasting memorial to their most illustrious fellow. The inscription reads that Harvey is "Lapt in lead"—wrapped or enclosed in lead. His sarcophagus can still be visited in Hempstead church today.​ (1)

Harvey left a will that made provisions for various people, including his "dear deceased loving wife" Elizabeth (who had predeceased him), his manservant, and the "pretty young wench" who attended him in his final years. He was generous to the Royal College of Physicians, having already donated a library building (completed 1653-4), his Burmarsh estate for perpetual income, and provisions for a librarian and annual oration.​

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA The Royal College of Physicians created a statue of Harvey in 1652, even before his death, as a tribute to his contributions. A bronze statue commemorating Harvey was erected in his birthplace of Folkestone in 1881, sculpted by Albert Bruce-Joy. This eight-foot bronze figure stands on a granite pedestal at the west end of The Leas, facing the sea, near the site of his birthplace. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Professor Richard Owen and attended by members of the International Medical Congress and other dignitaries.​

Modern medical institutions bear Harvey's name, including the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, which features a statue showing Harvey with his hand on his heart and an excised heart in his left hand. 

Statue of William Harvey by the hospital's entrance by D-G-Seamon, 

The William Harvey Heart Centre opened in 2011 at Queen Mary University of London's Charterhouse Square campus, representing a £25 million investment in cardiovascular research. The William Harvey Research Institute was founded in 1986 by Nobel Laureate Sir John Vane at St. Bartholomew's Hospital.​

Harvey Grammar School in Folkestone was founded by Harvey's brother Eliab and bears the family name. An annual civic commemoration in Folkestone honors Harvey with ceremonies involving the Harveian Society of London, local dignitaries, and medical professionals.​

The Royal College of Physicians maintains William Harvey House as accommodation for visitors, named in memory of their eminent member. Harvey's portrait looks down on all new RCP members at their graduation ceremonies, maintaining his symbolic presence in medical education.​

ACHIEVEMENTS Discovered the circulation of blood and the role of the heart as a pump (1628).

Disproved Aristotle’s anatomical theories, revolutionizing medical understanding.

Introduced embryology in his 1651 publication Exercitationes de Generatione Animalium, concluding that almost all animals come from eggs.

Conducted 23 years of research, dissecting countless animals — many from the royal deer parks at Windsor and Hampton — to uncover the mysteries of life.

Served as Physician in Ordinary to King Charles I.

Inspired future generations of scientists, including Robert Boyle and Marcello Malpighi.

Sources: (1) She-philosopher.com (2) National Library of Medicine (3) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (4) Creation Evolution (5) National Library of Medicine (6) Civil War Petitions