Sir William Osler

Born: July 12, 1849
Birthplace: Bond Head, Ontario
Died: December 29, 1919

Bequeathed his extensive collection of historical books (over 5,000 titles) to McGill University forming the Osler Library

Dr. Osler spent the year after his graduation in medicine studying in London, Berlin, and Vienna. He returned to Montreal as Professor of the Institutes of Medicine, where he introduced new scientific methods into the curriculum.

After a stint at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Dr. Osler was invited to be the first Chief of Medicine in the newly formed Johns Hopkins Medical School. Here he was able to promote the adoption of European scientific medicine throughout the United States both by his teaching and through the publication of what became the standard textbook of medicine throughout the English-speaking world and beyond: Principles and Practices of Medicine (New York: Appleton, 1892).

Dr. Osler became Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford in 1905, and was made a Baronet in 1911. He bequeathed his splendid historical library of over five thousand volumes to McGill University to form the Osler Library.

For more information on Sir William Osler, refer to the biography by historian Michael Bliss titled William Osler - a Life in Medicine published by University of Toronto Press, 1999. This book helps explain why many people regard Osler as "the greatest doctor in the history of the world."

To see the book list or find out more about the Osler library, visit the website at www.health.library.mcgill.ca.