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Paper, 'A briefe narrative of the shott of Dr Robert Fielding with a muskett bullett and its strange manner of coming out of his head' by Robert Fielding

Reference number: CLP/12ii/65

Date: late 17th century

Description

Fielding describes being shot in the right eye with a musket bullet during the first battle at Newberry [Newbury, Berkshire, England] in 1643. A surgeon was unable to find the bullet after the fact, and Fielding would occasionally produce bone fragments from his mouth for several years following. Years later, he developed a sharp pain near his ear and throat, and the bullet was ultimately extracted in August 1672.

Subject: Medicine

An abbreviated version of this paper was published in Philosophical Transactions as 'A brief narrative of the shot of Dr. Robert Fielding with a musket-bullet, and its strange manner of coming out of his head, where it had lain near thirty years'.

Read to the Royal Society on 18 November 1736.

Reference number
CLP/12ii/65
Earliest possible date
late 17th century
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Paper, 'A briefe narrative of the shott of Dr Robert Fielding with a muskett bullett and its strange manner of coming out of his head' by Robert Fielding, late 17th century, CLP/12ii/65, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_12ii_65/paper-a-briefe-narrative-of-the-shott-of-dr-robert-fielding-with-a-muskett-bullett-and-its-strange-manner-of-coming-out-of-his-head-by-robert-fielding, accessed on 11 July 2026

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  • Classified Papers

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

    Dates: 1592 - 1741

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