The life of Sir William Osler

William Osler (1849-1919) is widely regarded as one of the most influential physicians of the late 19th and early 20th century and a key figure in the history of medicine. Besides his research activities and his dedicated scientific work, Osler’s greatest contribution to the medical world has been the system of residency which he developed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, thus introducing a new and deeply humanistic approach to the strictly scientific realm of traditional medicine. Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), a former student and close friend of Osler’s and a pioneer of neurosurgery, has himself become an icon of modern medicine. He was one of the first physicians to use x-rays for diagnosing brain tumours, he developed revolutionary methods of blood pressure measurement, and he discovered Cushing’s syndrome, the first autoimmune disease identified in a human being. This monumental biography earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1926.