William Saunders was born on 9 July 1743 in
Banff, Aberdeenshire, the son of Dr James Saunders MD. From 1755 to 1759 he took a science degree at
Marischal College in
Aberdeen (the usual age to attend university in the 18th century was 14). He studied medicine under Dr
William Cullen at the
University of Edinburgh and became Cullen's assistant. Writing a thesis on the medical use of
antimony, he gained his doctorate (MD) in 1765. He moved to
London, where he first taught chemistry and pharmacy in private schools. He came to fame by contesting Sir George Baker's theory that the high levels of
colic in
Devonshire derived from over-consumption of
cider, instead proving, by experiment that it came from the dissolving of lead during the cider-making process, and was lead-poisoning rather than alcohol-poisoning. He delivered the
Harveian Oration of 1796. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1793 and was also a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the
Anatomical Society and a member of the Geological Society. He left Guy's Hospital in 1802, proposing
Dr William Babington as his successor. In 1807 he was appointed Physician Extraordinaire to Prince George Augustus Frederick, who became the Prince Regent in 1811 (and was later to become King
George IV). During his working life he published a number of works on a variety of medical subjects. He retired in 1814 and died in
Enfield, London on 4 June 1817. He is buried in Enfield Parish Churchyard. ==Publications==