Guess the Scientist!

What famous Victorian-era scientist does this passage describe? (Follow the "extended" link for the answer.)

He suffered from incessant retching or vomiting, usually brought on by fatigue; and from painful bouts of wind that churned around after meals and obliged him to sit quietly in a private room until his body behaved more politely. Reading between the lines, his guts were noisy and smelly. "I feel nearly sure that the air is generated somewhere lower down than stomach," he told one doctor plaintively in 1865, "and as soon as it regurgitates into the stomach the discomfort comes on." He was equally forthright with his cousin...: "all excitement & fatigue brings on such dreadful flatulence that in fact I can go nowhere." When he did go somewhere, he needed privacy after meals, "for, as you know, my odious stomach requires that."

He also had trouble with his bowels, frequently suffering from constipation and vulnerable to the obsession with regularity that stalked most Victorians. He developed crops of boils in what he called "perfectly devilish attacks" on his backside, making it impossible to sit upright, and occasional eczema. There were headaches and giddiness. He probably had piles as well.
Answer: Charles Darwin!

The passage comes from an essay by Janet Browne titled "I could have retched all night: Charles Darwin and his body," in Science Incarnate, edited by Christopher Lawrence and Steven Shapin.
     Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 07, 2008
     Category: Medicine | Quizzes | Guess the Scientist | Science





Comments
LOL DARWIN.
I knew there was something wrong with that guy...
Posted by Lucy Boomcrackle in Tennessee on 09/07/08 at 02:48 PM
Hahaha, predestined karma?
Posted by Joe on 02/03/12 at 02:37 AM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.