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Sir William Roberts (18 March 1830 – 16 April 1899) was a British physician in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
, England.


Biography

Roberts was born on 18 March 1830 at Bodedern on the
Isle of Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
the son of David and Sarah Roberts. He was educated at Mill Hill School and at
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...
, graduating with a BA in 1851. After completion of his medical studies he was appointed a house surgeon at
Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nat ...
and became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was appointed Professor of Medicine,
Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Br ...
, Manchester from 1863 to 1883. His particular research field was that of renal disease. 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 knowledge, including mathematic ...
in 1877 and
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1885. He died in London on 16 April 1899, and was buried in Llanymawddwy, Merionethshire.


Contribution to the discovery of penicillin

Between 1870 and 1874, Roberts studied the dissolution of bacteria in cultures contaminated by a mold. He specifically studied the impact of
Penicillium glaucum ''Penicillium glaucum'' is a mold that is used in the making of some types of blue cheese, including Bleu de Gex, Rochebaron, and some varieties of Bleu d'Auvergne and Gorgonzola. (Other blue cheeses, including Bleu de Bresse, Bleu du Vercor ...
, a close relative of the
Penicillium notatum ''Penicillium chrysogenum'' (formerly known as ''Penicillium notatum'') is a species of fungus in the genus ''Penicillium''. It is common in temperate and subtropical regions and can be found on salted food products, but it is mostly found in in ...
. For this work, Roberts earned the
Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh The Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh is awarded by the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to a person who has made any highly important and valuable addition to Practical Therapeutics in the previous five ye ...
. See Discoveries of anti-bacterial effects of penicillium moulds before Fleming.


Dietetics and Dyspepsia

In 1884, the publication of his "''Dietetics and Dyspepsia''" described "high feeding" and "low feeding": the diets of the upper and lower class. He speculated that diet was the reason for aristocratic capacity for intellectualism.


Royal Commission on Opium

When political pressure was brought against the British government's involvement in the Sino-Indian opium trade, the 1893–1895 '' Royal Commission on Opium'' was created to investigate the drug. Sir William Roberts was the medical expert on the commission.


Selected publications


''A Practical Treatise on Urinary and Renal Diseases''
(1876)
''Lectures on Dietetics and Dyspepsia''
(1885)
''Collected Contributions on Digestion and Diet''
(1891)
''On the Chemistry and Therapeutics of Uric Acid Gravel and Gout''
(1892)


References

;Attribution


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, William 1830 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Welsh medical doctors Dietitians Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Gout researchers People from Anglesey Welsh biologists Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society