Percivall Pott, whose name is known to medical students because of its use in three different conditions, was born on Jan. 6, 1713 (1714?), in London in a house in Threadneedle Street, where the Bank of England now stands. At 7 years of age he was sent to school at Darenth in Kent, and at 16 years of age he was apprenticed to Mr. Nourse, surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital. For this apprenticeship, which lasted seven years, 210 pounds was paid. In 1736, he was given a diploma by the Barbers' and Surgeons' Company. He then took a "business" in Fenchurch Street and was apparently successful, for he was elected an assistant surgeon to St. Bartholomew's, and five years later was one of its principal surgeons. He removed to Bow Lane and married Sarah Cruttenden. In 1756, he fell from his horse and sustained a compound fracture of the leg.