Sir Kenelm Digby (1603-1665): diplomat, entrepreneur, privateer, duellist, scientist and philosopher.

Kenelm Digby was a man with widely differing interests. He studied at Oxford but left without a degree. At the age of 20, he was involved in a dramatic street brawl in Madrid; the following year saw him as a successful privateer in the Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic waters, and he was then appointed a naval administrator with lucrative trade monopolies. He practised medicine without formal qualifications and gained notoriety by promoting the use of 'sympathetic' powder for healing wounds. Befriended by King James I and his son who succeeded him, he became chancellor to Queen Henrietta and was knighted by King James I on 21 October 1623 and appointed to the Privy Council. At one time, he even spent a brief time in prison, but he later became a founding member of the Royal Society and published two major philosophical treatises as well as a popular cookbook. He designed and manufactured wine bottles with tapered necks for simpler pouring and square sides for easy stacking. He dabbled in mathematics and corresponded with Fermat of 'Last Theorem' fame. In 1641, he challenged a French nobleman who publicly cast a slur on the British King to a 'digladiation' (a sword duel) and quickly dispatched him. He was a friend and admirer of Sir Thomas Browne whose 'Religio Medici' he helped to publish. The Cowlishaw Library holds a 1659 5th edition copy of this remarkable book, with Digby's name on the spine. Truly, Digby must qualify as a Renaissance man.

Dr Nicolaes Tulp of Amsterdam, 1593-1674: anatomist and doctor of medicine.

The renowned Dr Nicolaes Tulp of seventeenth century was a practising surgeon and physician, a civic leader and an anatomist who was appointed Praelector in Anatomy to regularize public dissections, and he was also charged by the Surgeons' Guild to apprentice surgeons. Rembrandt's famous painting 'The Anatomy of Dr Tulp' brought growing recognition not only to the painter for his artistry, but also to the surgeon for it introduced a new dimension into anatomical paintings by displaying both anatomical detail and muscle function. Tulp's interests included botany, drug therapy and the production of the official Dutch Pharmacopoea. In civic affairs too, he played an important role, becoming the Mayor of Amsterdam as well as a judge - he was indeed a most noteworthy citizen of his time.