George Cheyne was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in 1671/72 to James Cheyne. The name of his mother is not recorded. He attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, although he appears not to have completed his degree. Cheyne moved to Edinburgh before being granted an MD from King’s College, Aberdeen, in 1701. He then moved to London where he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1702. He failed to establish a medical practice there and returned to Scotland in 1705. After around ten years he returned to England, travelling regularly between London and Bath. In 1718 he moved permanently to Bath and wrote a series of medical studies which were particularly focused on diet, weight, exercise and melancholy. He died in Bath in 1743.
