Richard Burthogge

Richard Burthogge (1637/38–1705), also known by the Latinized name Burthoggius, was an English physician, magistrate, and philosopher from Devon. Baptised in Plympton St Maurice in 1637 (OS), he studied at Exeter Grammar School, All Souls College, Oxford, and Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating in 1658. He continued his studies at the University of Leiden, where he completed his doctoral thesis on lithiasis in 1662. Returning to England, Burthogge practiced medicine near Totnes, notably at Bowden House in Ashprington. Despite potential Non-Conformist leanings, he served as a Justice of the Peace under James II and William III. Burthogge married at least three times and had daughters Sarah, Mary, and Ann. His philosophical and theological writings, often dedicated to John Locke, supported religious toleration and presented an empiricist epistemology that opposed innate ideas. His notable works include 'Essay upon Reason, and the Nature of Spirits' (1694) and 'Of the Soul of the World; and of Particular Souls' (1699). He died in 1705 and was buried in Totnes.