James Parkinson (1755–1824) was a multifaceted English medical pioneer, best known for his groundbreaking identification of Parkinson’s disease in his 1817 work, “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.” As a surgeon, apothecary, geologist, and political activist, Parkinson’s contributions extended well beyond medicine into geology and social reform. His detailed description of the symptoms of what would later bear his name laid the foundation for future research into this neurodegenerative disorder. Despite his diverse interests and significant contributions to several fields, it is his work on paralysis agitans that has left an enduring legacy, making him a central figure in the history of neurology. Parkinson’s commitment to improving societal well-being, along with his scientific inquiries, showcases his broad intellectual pursuits and dedication to humanitarian causes. Today, James Parkinson is remembered not only as the namesake of Parkinson’s disease but also as a pioneer who significantly advanced medical understanding and practice.

James Parkinson Quotes

1. “The first symptoms perceived are, a slight sense of weakness, with a proneness to trembling in some particular part”
― James Parkinson

2. “So slight and nearly imperceptible are the first inroads of this malady, and so extremely slow its progress, that it rarely happens, that the patient can form any recollection of the precise period of its commencement”
― James Parkinson

3. “If the population exceeded the means of support, the fault lay not in nature, but in the ability of politicians to discover some latent defect in the laws respecting the division and appropriation of property”
― James Parkinson

4. “The tremulous motion of the limbs occur during sleep, and augment until they awaken the patient, and frequently with much agitation and alarm”
― James Parkinson

5. “As to yourself, good sir, there are those who contend you resemble the venomous asp, whose poison is placed beneath its tongue”
― James Parkinson

6. “As the malady proceeds, even this temporary mitigation of suffering from the agitation of the limbs is denied”
― James Parkinson

7. “A mere literary education without the inculcation of moral and religious principles would prove highly injurious”
― James Parkinson

8. “The term palpitation may be employed to mark those morbid motions which chiefly characterise this disease”
― James Parkinson

9. “I have seen one, who was able to run, but not to walk”
― James Parkinson

10. “As the disease proceeds the hand fails to answer with exactness to the dictates of the will”
― James Parkinson

11. “Anomalous cases of convulsive affections have been designated by the term Shaking Palsy”
― James Parkinson

12. “Leeches, stimulating fomentations, and a blister, which was made for sometime to yield a purulent discharge, were applied over the cervical vertebræ”
― James Parkinson

13. “I ordered him a grain of Opium a day in the gum pill; and in three or four days the shaking had nearly left him”
― James Parkinson