William Harvey

William Harvey (1578–1657) was an English physician whose work transformed the study of anatomy and physiology. Born in Folkestone, Kent, he studied at the University of Cambridge and earned his medical degree at the University of Padua, where he was influenced by leading anatomical teaching. Harvey later became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and served as physician to King James I and King Charles I. In 1628 he published *Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus*, arguing from observation and experiment that blood circulates continuously through the body and that the heart functions as a pump.