Armstrong, John

(1709-1779)

   Scottish doctor, poet and essayist, from Roxburghshire, the son of a clergyman. After qualifying from Edinburgh in 1732 he practiced in London. In 1746 he was appointed physician to the London Soldiers Hospital, and from 1760 to 1763 was physician to the forces in Germany during the Seven Years' War. In 1735 he published a satirical pamphlet, Essay for abridging the Study of Physick. In 1736 his sex manual for newlyweds, The Oeconomy of Love, was published anonymously. Winter was published in 1770. His most renowned work, The Art of Preserving Health, published in four books in 1744, was immediately popular and remains his best known work. Some of his other poems: "Advice to Lovers," "Causes of Old Age," "Diet," "Madness," "The Advantages of Washing," "The Dangers of Sexual Excess," "Urban Pollution."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Significant and Famous Scots (http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/armstrong_john.htm). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.