Quacks: fakers and charlatans in medicine

Quackery abounded in Britain in the 16th to the 19th centuries. Some of these practitioners were colourful characters who successfully promoted their medical and surgical abilities and their remedies to a gullible public. Although many may have been harmless, a number of them may have been considered to be rather dubious and dangerous, but altogether they played a large part in influencing the history of medical practice between 1750 and 1850. The methods of practice employed by these people have been reviewed and examples given of such quacks as Sir William Read and Joshua Ward both of whom were very successful. Alternative medicine has always had an attraction for some members of the community, and this has extended into the twentieth century. Examples are given of therapies, such as that for the treatment of cancer and arterial disease, in recent years that can only be described as modern-day quackery.