--- ---  # Watch: The Forgotten Genius Who Figured Out How the Heart Works by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Dec 22, 2014 9:35 PM UTC  Engraving of English physician and anatomist William Harvey (1578-1657) who discovered the circulation of blood. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Engraving of English physician and anatomist William Harvey (1578-1657) who discovered the circulation of blood. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)Time Life Pictures—The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Dec 22, 2014 9:35 PM UTC In the 17th-century, William Harvey, an English physician, worked to debunk the misconceptions that phlegm and bile were at the root of all health problems. He was a leading figure in cardiology at the time, and it is to him that we owe the discovery of blood circulation. Almost forgotten now, Harvey was a trailblazer back then, or as [the World Science Festival](http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2014/12/misunderstood-genius-harvey/) sees it, “he ruffled a lot of feathers, but eventually became a major influence on modern medicine.” Watch the video above for more on his controversial, and until now overlooked, legacy. The Legacy of William Harvey, Forgotten Pioneer in Human Anatomy ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3644855/william-harvey-world-science-festival/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3644855/william-harvey-world-science-festival/"},"headline":"Watch: The Forgotten Genius Who Figured Out How the Heart Works","datePublished":"2014-12-22T21:35:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:05:11.269Z","description":"A video from the World Science Festival tells the story of William Harvey, a forgotten pioneer in human anatomy","url":"https://time.com/3644855/william-harvey-world-science-festival/","keywords":["History"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf34b6f8006ca3122/6987708ee20a8788dca84357/50696335.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf34b6f8006ca3122/6987708ee20a8788dca84357/50696335.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"William Harvey","caption":"William Harvey","creditText":"Time Life Pictures—The LIFE Picture Collection/Gett","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3644855/william-harvey-world-science-festival/","name":"Watch: The Forgotten Genius Who Figured Out How the Heart Works"}}]}] ```