Vesalius
ANDREAS, a Belgian anatomist; father of modern anatomy; born in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 31, 1514.
In 1544 he was appointed chief physician to the Emperor Charles V., and on his abdication in 1555 he was nominated to the same office by his son, Philip II. His opposition to the Galenic doctrines, his habit of dissecting human bodies, then considered impious, and the great reputation he enjoyed at the Spanish court, raised him many enemies; and a rumor that he had opened the body of a young Spanish nobleman whose heart showed symptoms of vitality, having got abroad, he was publicly accused of murder. The charge was taken up by the clergy and the medical faculty, to whom he was obnoxious, and also by the relations of the deceased; and though he enjoyed the protection of the king, he was obliged to flee from the persecution by which he was assailed, and to travel into Palestine by way of expiation of his alleged guilt.
On his return he was shipwrecked on the island of Zante, where he perished miserably of cold and hunger, Oct. 15, 1564. He was the author of numerous works, but that by which he is best known is entitled "The Structure of the Human Body." a VESPASIAN, TITUS FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, Roman emperor; born of a poor family in the country of the Sabines A. D. 9. He served in the Roman armies, gradually rising to distinction, and in 66 was charged by Nero with the conduct of the Jewish war. He VESPUCCI was still engaged in it when Nero died, and while the civil war was going on between Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, A. D. 69. He returned to Italy, leaving the war to his son Titus, and applied himself to the re-establishment of order, and the improvement of the administration. He of a private citizen, and contributed the force of his own example toward the introduction of a simpler mode of life, contented himself with the outward life VESPASIAN and purer morals. The Jewish war ended in 70, and the next year Vespasian and Titus had a joint triumph. Vespasian died, A. D. 79, leaving two sons, Titus and Domitianus, who both became emperors.