Willis was born on his parents' farm in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, where his father held the stewardship of the manor. He was a kinsman of the Willys baronets of Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire. He graduated M.A. from See more

Willis was a pioneer in research into the anatomy of the brain, nervous system and muscles. His most notable discovery was the "Circle of Willis", a circle of arteries on the base of the brain. See more

By his wife, Mary Fell, Willis had five daughters and four sons, of whom four children survived early childhood. After Mary's death in … See more

• "Thomas Willis". Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Carl Zimmer, Soul Made Flesh, 2004.
• Eduardo Punset, The Soul is in the brain, 2006. See more

Willis's work gained currency in France through the writings of Daniel Duncan. The philosopher Richard Cumberland quickly applied the findings on brain anatomy to argue a case against Thomas Hobbes's view of the primacy of the passions. Willis's books, … See more

• 1663 Diatribae duae medico-philosophicae – quarum prior agit de fermentatione on Google Books
• 1664 Cerebri anatome: cui accessit nervorum descriptio et usus
• 1667 Pathologiae Cerebri et Nervosi Generis Specimen See more

• The Willis Fleming Historical Trust
• Thomas Willis from The Galileo Project
• Munk, William (1878). The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, Vol. I (2nd ed.). London. pp. 338–342. See more