Samuel James (c1763-1831) of Hoddesdon and the medicinal use of willow bark.

Recognition of the medicinal properties of extracts of willow (Salix sp) bark is usually attributed to Edward Stone (1702-68) of Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire. It was the search for the medicinal compounds that they contained that eventually led to the discovery of salicylic acid, the parent compound of aspirin. Little attention has been given to the work of Samuel James of Hoddesdon who confirmed and extended the results of Stone and who influenced later chemists in their search for specific compounds. Here his work is described and evaluated and his biographical details are recorded.