Sir Hans Sloane
A physician by trade, Sir Hans Sloane was also
a collector of objects from around the world. By his death in
1753 he had collected over 71,000 objects. Sloane bequeathed
his collection to the nation in his will and it became the founding
collection of the British Museum.
Sloane the physician
Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753) was born in Killyleagh, Ireland in
relatively modest circumstances. Inspired by a childhood interest
in natural history, he studied medicine in London and France.
In 1689, Sloane set up a successful medical practice at his home
in No. 3 Bloomsbury Place – coincidentally just along the street
from the present Museum building. He had a number of wealthy and
aristocratic patients, among them Queen Anne and Kings George I and
II.
An innovative doctor, Sloane promoted inoculation against
smallpox, the use of quinine (a treatment for malaria) and the
health-giving properties of drinking chocolate mixed with milk.
He became President of the College of Physicians in 1719 and in
1727 succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as President of the Royal
Society.
Sloane the collector
Sloane’s career as a collector really began in 1687 when, as
personal physician, he accompanied the new Governor, the Duke of
Albermarle, to Jamaica. He collected some 800 species of plants and
other live specimens to bring back to London. An account of his
travels was published in 1707 and 1725.
He absorbed complete collections made by others, among them
William Charlton (Courten) (1642–1702) and James
Petiver (d.1718). He also received objects from friends and
patients. As a result his collection outgrew the house at No. 3
Bloomsbury Place and he purchased No. 4 as well.
Sloane’s house was visited by numerous people, among them was
the composer Handel who is said to have outraged his host by
placing a buttered muffin on one of his rare books.
In 1742 he moved with his collections to a manor house in
Chelsea. His time there is still commemorated by such place names
as Sloane Square and Hans Crescent.
Sloane died at the age of 93 in 1753 and was buried at Chelsea
Old Church. By then, his collection amounted to more than 71,000
objects. Chiefly natural history specimens, the collection also
included:
- 23,000 coins and medals
- 50,000 books, prints and manuscripts
- a herbarium (a collection of dried plants)
- 1,125 'things relating to the customs of ancient
times'
Foundation of the British Museum
In his will, Sloane bequeathed the whole collection to King
George II for the nation in return for payment of £20,000 to his
heirs.
Parliament accepted the gift and on 7 June 1753 an Act of
Parliament establishing the British Museum received the royal
assent. Sloane’s collection became the foundation of the British
Museum.
Further reading
Arthur MacGregor (ed), Sir Hans Sloane: Collector,
scientist, antiquary (London, 1994)
E St John Brooks, Sir Hans Sloane: The Great Collector and his
Circle (London, 1954)
Gavin R de Beer, Sir Hans Sloane and the British Museum
(London, 1953)
Images from top:
- Sir Hans Sloane, an engraving from a portrait by T. Murray
- Sir Hans Sloane's specimen tray © The Natural History
Museum
- Admission ticket to the British Museum, 3 March AD 1790