William Saunders FRS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(9 July 1743 – 4 June 1817) was a Scottish physician who was the first President of the

Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London was a learned society of physicians and surgeons which was founded in 1805 by 26 personalities in these fields who had left the Medical Society of London (founded 1773) because of disagreement with the ...

Life

He was born on 9 July 1743 in

Banff, Aberdeenshire Banff ( gd, Banbh) is a town in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Macduff across the estuary of the River Deveron. It is a former royal burgh, and is the county town of the ...

, the son of Dr James Saunders MD. From 1755 to 1759 he took a Science degree at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

(the usual age to attend University in the 18th century was 14). He studied Medicine under Dr

William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and became Cullen's assistant. Writing a thesis on the medical use of

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient time ...

he gained his doctorate (MD) in 1765. He moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he first taught chemistry and pharmacy in private schools. He came to fame by contesting Sir George Baker's theory that the high levels of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...

derived from over-consumption of

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

, instead proving, by experiment that it came from the dissolving of lead during the cider-making process, and was lead-poisoning rather than alcohol-poisoning. In 1769 he was made a Licenciate of 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 ...

and in 1770 became a physician at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

, where he developed and delivered courses of medical lectures. In 1790 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, to whom he delivered the

Goulstonian Lecture The Goulstonian Lectures are an annual lecture series given on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians in London. They began in 1639. The lectures are named for Theodore Goulston (or Gulston, died 1632), who founded them with a bequest A beque ...

of 1792 on diseases of the liver. In 1792 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Daniel Rutherford Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 December 1819) was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is known for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772. Life Rutherford was born on 3 November 1749, the son of Anne Mackay and Professor John ...

, William Wright and

Andrew Duncan, the elder Andrew Duncan, the elder (17 October 1744 – 5 July 1828) FRSE FRCPE FSA (Scot) was a Scottish physician and professor at the University of Edinburgh. He was joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Life Duncan was the second son of An ...

. He delivered the

Harveian Oration The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...

of 1796. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1793 and was also a Fellow of the

, a Fellow of the

Anatomical Society The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science". The society o ...

and a member of the Geological Society. He left Guy's Hospital in 1802, proposing Dr William Babington as his successor. He was a founding member of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society and in 1805 was elected their first President. He was mentor in London to Rev Dr Sayer Walker. In 1807 he was appointed Physician Extraordinaire to Prince George Augustus Frederick, who became the Prince Regent in 1811 (and was later to become King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

). During his working life he published a number of works on a variety of medical subjects. He retired in 1814 and died in

Enfield, London Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Hig ...

on 4 June 1817. He is buried in Enfield Parish Churchyard.

Publications

*''A Thesis on Antimony'' (1766) *''A Treatise on the Devonshire Colic'' (1767) *''On the Red Bark'' *''On Liver Diseases'' *''On Mineral Waters: Their Uses and Abuses'' *''On the Use and Abuse of Mercury on Liver and Other Diseases''

Family

He was twice married and had four sons and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, William 1743 births 1817 deaths People from Banff, Aberdeenshire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish medical doctors 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh