| Sir William Osler (July 12, 1849 -
December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician. He has been called one of
the greatest icons of modern medicine, the Father of Modern Medicine, which is what
he himself considered Avicenna to be.
He was born in Bond Head, Canada West (now Ontario) and studied and taught at McGill
University in Montreal, Quebec, where
he obtained his medical degree in 1872. In 1884 he
was appointed Chair of Clinical Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. in Philadelphia and in 1889 he became the first Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In
1905 he was appointed to the Regius Chair of
Medicine at Oxford, which he held until his death.
Osler was created a baronet in 1911 for his
great contributions to the field of medicine.
Osler was a prolific author and a great collector of books relevant to the history of medicine. His most famous work is the Principles and Practice of Medicine, which
appeared in many editions and translations for over 50 years. After his death, his book collection formed the nucleus of McGill
University's Osler
Library of the History of Medicine, which opened in 1929. Sir William and Lady Osler's ashes rest there among his beloved
books.
Throughout his life Osler was a great admirer of the 17th century physician and philosopher Sir Thomas Browne. In 1994 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Osler lent his name to a number of diseases and symptoms.
References:
Bliss, Michael. William Osler : a life in medicine / by Michael Bliss. Toronto : University of Toronto Press,
c1999. ISBN 0802043496
Cushing, Harvey. The life of Sir William Osler / by Harvey Cushing. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1925.
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