James Lind FRSE FRCPE (4 October 1716 – 13 July 1794) was a Scottish physician. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting one of the first ever clinical trials, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy. Lind served in the Royal Navy and then went onto private practice. In 1758 he appointed chief physician of the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, then one of the largest hospitals in the world. While chief physician, Lind argued for the health benefits of better ventilation aboard naval ships, the improved cleanliness of sailors' bodies, clothing and bedding, and below-deck fumigation with sulphur and arsenic. He also proposed that fresh water could be obtained by distilling sea water. He retired in 1783 and was awarded a large pension by the naval commissioners. Lind made significant advancements in naval medicine that advanced the practice of preventive medicine and improved human understanding of nutrition.

Lind was born on 4 October in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1716 into a family of merchants, then headed by his father, James Lind. His family were related to a number of prominent Linds in the city, including George Lind and his cousin, James Lind, also a noted physician. His mother was Margaret Smellum, daughter of a merchant and town burgess. He had an elder sister, as well as a younger brother. It is not known for certain where he attended school but he learnt Greek and Latin (some sources indicate that he may have been educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh but it is not confirmed).

In December 1731 he began his medical studies as an apprentice of George Langlands, a fellow of the Incorporation of Surgeons which preceded the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. His duties as apprentice including mixing chemicals and basic medicines, cleaning and general chores, dressing wounds and bleeding lesser patients.

After some 8 years as apprentice, Lind decided to go to London to find a job in medicine and in 1739, he joined the Royal Navy, his younger brother being a junior naval officer. He was examined at the Navy Office and Surgeon's Hall and then appointed to the position of surgeon's mate. Lind spent long periods with ships on blockade and patrol in the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean during the War of the Austrian Succession. Lind served in the squadron of Nicholas Haddock who blockaded the coast of Spain in the early 1740s. This included managing the effects of a major sea epidemic of typhus that affected the fleet. Lind also served in the Mediterranean, off the coast of West Africa and in the West Indies. While at sea, alongside his normal duties, Lind made extensive records and medical observations on everything related to disease and hygiene on ships. He reported back to England on the poor hospital facilities for sick sailors in Port Mahon.

By 1747 he had become surgeon of HMS Salisbury in the Channel Fleet, and had decided to conduct an experiment on the prevention and treatment of scurvy while that ship was patrolling the Bay of Biscay. This was carried out from 20 May 1747 with twelve patients and the application of dietary supplements, that varied by subgroup, including consumption of citrus fruits, herbs, pastes, cider vinegar and other treatments, with those having consumed the citrus fruits the best treated. Shortly after his first scurvy experiment in 1748, Lind retired from active sea service with the Navy.

After he left the Navy, Lind wrote his MD thesis on venereal diseases (entitled 'De morbis venereis localibus') and subsequently earned his degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He was then granted a licence from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh to practise in Edinburgh. He then practised privately as a physician in Edinburgh. Alongside his private practice, Lind studied and gathered extensive research on the topic of scurvy and published his first treatise on Scurvy in 1753 with the Scottish publisher Kincaid and Donaldson in Edinburgh, dedicating it to Lord Anson.

In the summer of 1758, he was appointed chief physician of the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar at Gosport. The hospital was purpose built to be the primary medical facility for the Royal Navy and had opened officially just over four years earlier, with Lind appointed to as the second holder of the chief physician's post. It is believed that Lord Anson had directly sponsored him for the role and it came with a salary of 200 pounds a year. The position was largely administrative in nature and involved overall responsibility for on average 1,500 patients on the site on a given day. Lind reported directly to the Sick and Hurt Board Commissioners of the Admiralty. In his first two years as chief physician, Lind record 5,735 patients in the hospital, with 1,146 showing signs of scurvy which he ordered treated, conducting research and testing effective remedies while in his role. Lind was able to use his time at Haslar to produce new editions of his great works on scurvy, naval hygiene and tropical medicine.

Lind retired in 1783 and was awarded a large pension by the naval commissioners, with it being recorded this was an unusual arrangement but commensurate with his long medical service. His son John succeeded him as chief physician. In 1783, alongside his cousin, he was one of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.