And plenty of people were better doctors than doctors were.<p>Theodore Dalrymple had a column proving that Shakespeare did _not_ have a formal medical education, because he described symptoms correctly. (He contrasted this with a book by a practicing doctor from the time, who described patients purely in terms of the four humors -- creating fanciful descriptions unrecognizable to a modern practitioner.)<p>Come to think of it, there was also a book published a few  years ago about US president James Garfield&#x27;s death in the late 19th century. He didn&#x27;t die of being shot in the back; he died of receiving the best medical care in the world.