Dr Richard Lower

Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...Richard Lower (1631 – 17 January 1691) was an English physician who heavily influenced the development of medical science. He is most remembered for his works on transfusion and the function of the cardiopulmonary system..."

"...Lower was born in St Tudy, Cornwall and studied at Westminster School where he met John Locke, and Oxford, where he met Thomas Willis, founder of the Royal Society. He followed Willis to London, where he carried out research, some in partnership with Robert Hooke. His major work, Tractatus de Corde (1669) was concerned with the workings of the heart and lungs, and he experimented with blood transfusion, thus becoming the first Western scientist ever to perform a blood transfusion..."

"...Lower took care of Charles II during his last illness in 1685. When James II took the throne, Lower did not continue as court physician because of the unpopularity of his anti-Catholic and Whiggish sentiments. Lower died in London from a fever..."

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lower_%28physician%29