13. WILLIAM BROWNE M.D. afterwards Sir _William Browne_, _Knight_, F.R.S. and _President of the Royal College of Physicians_. Though he has been already noticed repeatedly in the course of this work, yet as he made so conspicuous a figure here in his day, and our materials relating to him not being yet exhausted, he seems justly entitled to a place among these biographical sketches. He was born about the beginning of the year 1692. The place of his birth we have not been able to discover, but think it to be at some distance from this town. We have understood that he was introduced here by the means and under the patronage of the Turner family, to which he became afterwards implacably hostile. His settlement here must have taken place at an early period of his life; for his name was enrolled among our free burgesses in February 1718; which must have been some time, perhaps two or three years, after he had first taken up his residence here. Yet he seems to have previously resided and graduated both at Cambridge and Oxford, for he denominated himself _M.D. of both Universities_. However that was, he appears to have soon got on fast in the way of his vocation, so as to obtain a large share of popularity and practice, especially among the middling and lower orders of the community, which he is said to have turned to very good account. And he is understood to have made much more of his patients, in the pecuniary way, than Hepburn was able to make of his among the higher orders. Having become the popular physician and favourite, or what we may call the man of the people, he grew quite regardless of the favour and good opinion of the gentry or higher classes. As to the gentlemen of the corporation, he held them very cheap, and treated them at times with the utmost disdain, looking upon them as his inferiors, and taking precedence of the very mayor himself, which gave no small umbrage, as was observed before, at page 900. This took place as early as the year 1723: and this hostility to the body corporate appears not to have undergone any abatement during the remainder of his residence here.—Before we proceed further we will beg leave here to subjoin the account given of him in the _Encyclopedia Londinensis_, the substance of which is as follows—