Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Achieving Moderate Pressures in Sealed Vessels Using Dry Ice As a Solid CO2 Source
06:26

Achieving Moderate Pressures in Sealed Vessels Using Dry Ice As a Solid CO2 Source

Published on: August 17, 2018

Pascal's law and the death of Cromwell

J H Felts1

  • 1Department of Medicine, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C.

American Journal of Nephrology
|January 1, 1991
PubMed

Insights

Oliver Cromwell likely died from urinary tract issues, not malaria. Blaise Pascal's work on fluid dynamics may have contributed to his death, impacting the Lord Protector's kidneys.

Area of Science:

  • Medical History
  • Physiology
  • History of Science

Background:

  • Historical accounts attribute Oliver Cromwell's death to 'bastard tertian ague'.
  • Cromwell, Lord Protector of the British Isles, suffered from recurrent health issues.
  • Blaise Pascal was a contemporary scientist known for his work in hydraulics.

Discussion:

  • This study re-evaluates Cromwell's cause of death, proposing complications from urinary tract infection and obstruction.
  • It explores a potential link between Pascal's Law and the physiological stress on Cromwell's kidneys.
  • The historical consequence of Cromwell's death and its potential connection to scientific principles are examined.

Key Insights:

  • Reinterpretation of Oliver Cromwell's death suggests urinary tract complications as the primary cause.
  • Evidence points to Blaise Pascal's principles of hydraulics potentially influencing Cromwell's renal health.
  • This interdisciplinary analysis connects historical events with scientific understanding.

Outlook:

  • Further research could investigate the precise mechanisms by which hydraulic principles might affect kidney function in historical figures.
  • This study opens avenues for re-examining other historical medical cases through the lens of contemporary scientific knowledge.
  • Encourages interdisciplinary collaboration between historians and scientists to illuminate past events.

More Related Videos

A Uniaxial Compression Experiment with CO2-Bearing Coal Using a Visualized and Constant-Volume Gas-Solid Coupling Test System10:27

A Uniaxial Compression Experiment with CO2-Bearing Coal Using a Visualized and Constant-Volume Gas-Solid Coupling Test System

Published on: June 12, 2019

High-Speed Optical Diagnostics of a Supersonic Ping-Pong Cannon05:40

High-Speed Optical Diagnostics of a Supersonic Ping-Pong Cannon

Published on: March 24, 2023

Related Concept Videos

Gas Laws: Boyle's, Gay-Lussac, Charles', Avogadro's, and Ideal Gas Law03:19

Gas Laws: Boyle's, Gay-Lussac, Charles', Avogadro's, and Ideal Gas Law

Through experiments, scientists established the mathematical relationships between pairs of variables, such as pressure and temperature, pressure and volume, volume and temperature, and volume and moles, that hold for an ideal gas.
Newton's First Law: Introduction01:17

Newton's First Law: Introduction

Motion draws our attention. Motion itself can be beautiful, causing us to marvel at the forces needed to create spectacular sights, such as that of a dolphin jumping out of the water, the flight of a bird, or the orbit of a satellite. The study of motion is kinematics, but kinematics only describes the way objects move—their velocity and acceleration. Dynamics considers the forces that affect the motion of moving objects and systems. Newton's laws of motion are the foundation of dynamics. These...
Pascal's Law01:04

Pascal's Law

In 1653, the French philosopher and scientist Blaise Pascal published "Treatise on the Equilibrium of Liquids," which discussed the principles of static fluids. A static fluid is a fluid that is not in motion. When a fluid is not flowing, we say that the fluid is in static equilibrium. If the fluid is water, we say it is in hydrostatic equilibrium. For a fluid in static equilibrium, the net force on any part of the fluid must be zero; otherwise, the fluid will start to flow. Pascal observed...
Application of Pascal's Law01:03

Application of Pascal's Law

Pascal's experimentally proven observations—that a change in pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted undiminished throughout the fluid and to the walls of its container—provide the foundations for hydraulics, one of the most important developments in modern mechanical technology.
Hydraulic systems are used to operate automotive brakes, hydraulic jacks, and numerous other mechanical systems. We can derive a relationship between the forces in a simple hydraulic system by applying...
Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure01:11

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressure

The partial pressure of a gas is a measure of the thermodynamic activity of the gas's molecules. The pressure that a gas would create if it occupied the total volume available is called the gas's partial pressure. If two or more gases are mixed together in a container, the molecules move randomly and collide with each other, causing them to reach thermal equilibrium. When the gases have the same temperature, their molecules have the same average kinetic energy. Thus, each gas obeys the ideal...
Physical Principles Governing Gas Exchange01:16

Physical Principles Governing Gas Exchange

Gas behavior plays a vital role in understanding bodily processes such as external and internal respiration. External respiration involves the diffusion of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of it in the lungs. In contrast, internal respiration happens in body tissues, where these gases move in opposite directions.
Gas Laws Governing Respiration
The behavior of gases is guided by Dalton's Law of partial pressures and Henry's Law.
Dalton's Law asserts that the total pressure exerted by...