William Munk
FRCP
(1824 September 1816 – 20 December 1898) was an English physician, now remembered for his work as a medical historian and "

Munk's Roll The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to as Munk's Roll, is a series of published works containing biographical entries of the fellows of the Royal College of Physicians. It was published in print in eleven volume ...

", a biographical reference work on the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

Life

The eldest son of William Munk, an ironmonger, and his wife Jane Kenward, he was born on 24 September 1816 at

Battle, Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the local government district of Rother District, Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the sout ...

, and after education at University College, London, graduated M.D. at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

in 1837. He began practice in London in September 1837, and in 1844 he became a licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

, and in 1854 a fellow. In 1857 he was elected th
Harveian librarian
of the college, and held office till his death. He became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 1842, and from 1857 to 1865 was the medical adviser of

Cardinal Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church who became the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1850. Born ...

. He was for many years an active member of the committee of the

London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James's ...

. He was elected physician to the Smallpox Hospital in February 1853, and held office there for forty years. When

Prince Arthur Prince Arthur may refer to: * Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187-1203), nephew and possible heir of Richard I of England * Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486–1502), eldest son Henry VII of England * Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850� ...

had

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in October 1867 he was called in consultation. He long resided at 40 Finsbury Square, London, enjoyed a considerable practice, and died there on 20 December 1898. He was of short stature.

Works

In 1857 he published 'Memoirs of the Life and Writings of J. A. Paris, M.D.', on

John Ayrton Paris John Ayrton Paris, FRS (178524December 1856) was a British physician. He is most widely remembered as a possible inventor of the thaumatrope, which he published with W. Phillips in April 1825. Life Paris was a medical researcher of distinctio ...

, and in 1861 'The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London,' in two volumes. A second edition of this work appeared in 1878 in three volumes; it is a major work of reference on the physicians of England, refers to the manuscript records of the College of Physicians, and contains information from other sources. In 1860 he published the first two volumes of ''The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London'', and the third volume in 1878 as part of the second edition of the work. Now commonly known as the ''

''. In 1884 he edited 'The Gold-headed Cane' of Dr.

William MacMichael William Macmichael FRS (30 November 1783 – 10 January 1839) was an English physician and medical biographer, remembered as the author of ''The Gold-Headed Cane'' (1827). Life and career William Macmichael was born on 30 November 1783 in Bri ...

, in 1887 published 'Euthanasia, or Medical Treatment in aid of an Easy Natural Death,' and in 1895 'The Life of Sir Henry Halford, Bart., M.D.' The College of Physicians voted him one hundred guineas in consideration of this work. He also published some 'Notæ Harveianæ' in the 'St. Bartholomew's Hospital Reports' (vol. xxii.); and in 1885 'Marvodia,' a genealogical account of the Marwoods, a Devonshire family; and wrote several essays on medical subjects in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

''.

Family

He married, 30 April 1849, Emma, eighteenth child of John Luke of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, and left two sons and three daughters.

References

*''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Munk, William (1816–1898), physician, by Norman Moore. Published 1901.

External links

Biography by G. H. Brown''Munk's Roll'' on the RCP site
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Munk, William 1816 births 1898 deaths 19th-century English medical doctors English biographers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism