Sir William Duncan, 1st Baronet (died 1 September 1774) was a Scottish physician. He was a fashionable society doctor in London, and physician

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household and public officials more generally, it indicates that a position is a permanent one (in contrast to positions that are extraordinary). In naval matt ...

George III of Great Britain George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great ...

Life

He was the brother of Alexander Duncan of Lundie,

Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...

, and uncle of

Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan (1 July 17314 August 1804) was a Royal Navy officer best known for defeating the Batavian Navy at the 1797 Battle of Camperdown. The victory was one of the most significant naval battles in the French Rev ...

. Duncan graduated M.D. from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 1751. He attended George III, becoming physician in ordinary in 1760, taking the place in the new reign of

Frank Nicholls Frank Nicholls (1699 – 7 January 1778) was an English physician. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728. He was made reader of anatomy at Oxford University when young and moved to London in the 1730s. Life The second son of Jo ...

; and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

in the

County of Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hi ...

on 9 August 1764. He treated the king in his first illness (1765). In partnership with a Scottish physician, Andrew Turnbull, he obtained land grants in Florida, where they planned a new settlement, New Smyrna, using indentured labour from the Mediterranean and Negro slaves. In 1768 eight ships set off from Minorca with more than a thousand settlers on board, but on arrival they found conditions deplorable. Duncan was elected a

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

in 1771. Towards the end of his life he moved abroad, passing his practice to

Sir John Eliot Sir John Eliot (11 April 1592 – 27 November 1632) was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament. Early life T ...

. He died at

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, on 1September 1774. The large investment he had made at New Smyrna was lost a few years later in 1777 when the surviving indentured settlers deserted New Smyrna ''en masse''.

Family

In 1763, Duncan married Lady Mary Tufton, daughter of

Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet (11 May 1688 – 4 December 1753) was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 until 1729 when he succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Thanet. Tufton was the son of Colonel the H ...

. He left no son, and the baronetcy died with him. Lady Mary was born in 1723, and died in 1806. She was noted for her high wigs, and supposed infatuation with Gaspare Pacchierotti.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, William Year of birth missing 1774 deaths 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of the University of St Andrews Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain