William Alison

William Pulteney Alison
Drawing of William Alison
Born(1790-11-12)12 November 1790
Burghmuirhead, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died22 September 1859(1859-09-22) (aged 68)
Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh (MD 1811)
Years active1814–1858
Known forEmphasising the link between poverty and disease.[1]
Promoting the idea that there is a 'life force' superadded to the physical forces of dead matter[2]
Medical career
InstitutionsPhysician to the New Town Dispensary (1814)
Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, Edinburgh University (1820–1)
Professor of the Institutes of Medicine, Edinburgh University (1822–42)
Professor of the Theory of Physic, Edinburgh University (1842–56)
Physician at the Infirmary
Large private consulting practice

William Pulteney Alison FRSE FRCPE FSA (12 November 1790 – 22 September 1859) was a Scottish physician, social reformer and philanthropist. He was a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He served as president of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh (1833), president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1836–38), and vice-president of the British Medical Association, convening its meeting in Edinburgh in 1858.

  1. ^ Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006). Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index (PDF). Vol. I. Edinburgh: The Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 978-0-902198-84-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  2. ^ O'Connor, W.J. (1988). Founders of British physiology: a biographical dictionary, 1820–1885. Manchester University Press ND. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7190-2537-2.