Browne

(Sir Thomas), physician and writer, b. London, 19 Oct. 1605. He studied medicine and travelled on the Continent, taking his doctor’s degree at Leyden (1633). He finally settled at Norwich, where he had a good practice. His treatise Religio Medici , famous for its fine style and curious mixture of faith and scepticism, was surreptitiously published in 1642. It ran through several editions and was placed on the Roman Index . His Pseudodoxia Epidemic a; Enquiries into Vulgar and Common Errors , appeared in 1646. While disputing many popular superstitions he showed he partook of others. This curious work was followed by Hydriotaphia, or Urn-Burial , in which he treats of cremation among the ancients. To this was added The Garden of Cyrus . He died 19 Oct. 1682.