James Lind scurvy while that ship was patrolling the Bay of Biscay. Just after that patrol he left the Navy, wrote his MD thesis on venereal diseases and earned his degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, and was granted a licence to practice in Edinburgh. Scurvy is a disease now known to be caused by a vitamin C deficiency, but in Lind's day, the concept of vitamins was unknown. Vitamin C is necessary for the maintenance of healthy connective tissue. In 1740 the catastrophic result of Anson's circumnavigation attracted much attention in Europe; out of 1900 men, 1400 had died,
House System at the California Institute of Technology the name Ricketts to the disease rickets and the fact that scurvy is another vitamin deficiency disease. Members of Ricketts Hovse were known as "Rowdies" until about 1960; alumni of that period still draw the distinction between "Rowdies" and "Skurves". Ricketts House is traditionally one of the most diverse houses on the campus. Ricketts traditions include fire related activities and the brakedrum. Prior to early 2003, the Ricketts courtyard housed a large concrete firepot, in which massive fires were often enjoyed during cool Pasadena evenings. The courtyard originally featured a large Italian marble well head (historically attributed to and named