On this day in . . . 1578

William Harvey, an English physician, was born on 1st April 1578 in Folkestone. He discovered that the heart acts as a pump and circulates blood through the body.

The animal's heart is the basis of its life, its chief member, the sun of its microcosm; on the heart all its activity depends, from the heart all its liveliness and strength arise.' - from 'De Motu Cordis' (On the motion of the heart and blood) written by Harvey in 1628.

Harvey did many public dissections to show off his work, but was still believed by many to be 'crack brained'. I sympathise.