Newman was the son of Arthur Newman, surgeon, of Ringwood, Hampshire. He was born in 1759, became a member of the Corporation of Surgeons, and was in practice at Ringwood in 1783. In consequence of ill-health he removed to Dover, where he made the acquaintance of Sir Thomas Mantell and his wife, and resided for many years in their house. He was a delightful companion at all times, full of anecdote and energy, intelligence and originality. On 9 Dec. 1790 he was admitted an extra-licentiate of the College of Physicians of London (Munk, Coll. of Phys. 2nd edit. ii. 414). He was a favourite with the eccentric Messenger Monsey, the resident physician at Chelsea Hospital, of whom he wrote (but did not publish) an amusing memoir. He married and settled on his own estate at Ringwood, where he died on 27 July 1839.
His principal work, published anonymously, was ‘The Lounger's Commonplace Book, or Miscellaneous Collections in History, Criticism, Biography, Poetry, and Romance,’ 3rd edit. 4 vols., London, 1805–7, 8vo; and 2 vols., London, 1838, 8vo. He also wrote ‘A Short Inquiry into the Merits of Solvents, so far as it may be necessary to compare them with the Operation of Lithotomy,’ London, 1781, 8vo; and ‘An Essay on the Principles and Manners of the Medical Profession; with some Occasional Remarks on the Use and Abuse of Medicines.’ These two tracts were republished in 1789 under the title of ‘Medical Essays, with Additions.’
