History of Medicine

Sir William Osler was born on July 12, 1849 in Bond Head, Ontario. Spending a year at Trinity College in the Divinity program before deciding on medical school, Sir William Osler attended the University of Toronto's medical school for two years until transferring to McGill University where he received his M.D. in 1872. Studying abroad in Vienna, London, and Berlin, Sir William Osler came back to Canada to join the Faculty of Medicine at McGill in 1874. Sir William Osler joined the University of Pennsylvania's Faculty of Medicine in 1884 where he became a professor of clinical medicine. In 1905 he accepted the position of Regius Professorship of Medicine at Oxford University, the most prestigious medical appointment at the time. Known for revolutionizing the medical curriculum in both Canada and the United States, Sir William Osler combined the German system, postgraduate medical training with internships and residency, and English system, bedside medical education. Publishing "The Principles and Practice of Medicine" in 1892, to support his new curriculum, Sir William Osler's book remained the standard medical text for over 40 years.