ABSTRACT
After receiving his B.A. degree at Oxford University in 1656, following a traditional course of study in Arts, Locke held on to his studentship at Christ Church, entitling him to rooms in college and a stipend-a position which he retained until he was expelled at the direct instigation of Charles II (1630-85) in 1684, as a consequence of Locke’s involvement with political groupings opposed to royal policies at the time. At Oxford, Locke was engaged not only in philosophical and theological studies, but was also particularly interested in medicine, and indeed in science quite generally (he became a fellow of the recently founded Royal Society in 1668). Locke’s interest in medicine was fostered by his association with the eminent physician Thomas Sydenham (1624-89), and he was eventually to receive the medical degree of M.B. from Oxford University in 1675. His knowledge of medicine was to stand him in good stead when, after a chance meeting in 1666 with Lord Ashley (1621-83), then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he became Lord Ashley’s medical adviser, taking up residence in his London house in 1667 and staying there until 1675. Locke was responsible for overseeing a serious liver operation on Lord Ashley in 1668, from which the patient recovered, thereafter regarding Locke as one of his closest friends and confidants.
