William Pulteney Alison
| William Alison | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
12 November 1790 Burghmuirhead, Edinburgh |
| Died | 22 September 1859 (aged 68) Colinton, Edinburgh |
| Education | Edinburgh University (MD 1811) |
| Years active | 1814–1858 |
| Known for | Emphasising the link between poverty and disease. Promoting the idea that there is a 'life force' superadded to the physical forces of dead matter |
| Medical career | |
| Institutions | Physician 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 Edinburgh University. 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.
Alison was born in Boroughmuirhead in 1790.
He was the eldest son of the Rev Archibald Alison and Dorothea Gregory; the elder brother of the advocate Archibald Alison; and godson of Laura Pulteney, 1st Countess of Bath. In his youth he climbed Mont Blanc and other mountains as a pastime and in 1811 he graduated as a physician from Edinburgh University. He studied under his father's friend Dugald Stewart, and for a time he was expected to follow a career in philosophy rather than medicine.
In 1814 he opened the New Town Dispensary at 4 East James Street, at the east end of the First New Town.
His academic career was impressive. He became a Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in 1820. From 1822 to 1842 he lectured in the Institutes of Medicine. From 1842 to 1856 he lectured in the Theory of Physic.
He was President of the Royal College of Physicians 1836-8, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society in 1833, and Vice President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1842-59.
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