William Gairdner (11 November 1793 – 28 April 1867) was a Scottish physician and writer. Gairdner was born at Mount Charles,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

on 11 November 1793. He was son of Robert Gairdner, a captain in the Bengal artillery. He was educated at University of Edinburgh and obtained he M.D. in 1813. He studied in London and worked as physician to the Earl of Bristol. He lived on Bolton Street, London and in 1823 was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians."William Gairdner"
Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 3 January 2020. In 1824, he authored ''Essay on the Effects of Iodine on the Human Constitution'' which supported

Jean-Francois Coindet Jean-François Coindet (July 12, 1774 – February 11, 1834) was a Swiss physician and researcher who is known for introducing iodine as a treatment of goitre. Jean-François Coindet was born on July 12, 1774, in Geneva as the son of Jean Jacq ...

's treatment of goitre by internal administration of

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

. He authored ''On Gout, its History, its Causes, and its Cure'' in 1849, a work which went through four editions. It was an exposition of the main clinical features of gout and advocated treatment such as bleeding, moderate purgation, and the administration of colchicum. He married in 1822 and had one daughter. Gairdner practiced medicine to the end of his life. He died at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

on 28 April 1867.

Selected publications

''Essay on the Effects of Iodine on the Human Constitution''
(1824)
''On Gout: Its History, its Causes, and its Cure''
(1849, 1860)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gairdner, William 1793 births 1867 deaths 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School Gout researchers People from South Ayrshire