William Woodville was born at
Cockermouth in Cumberland in 1752 in wealthy Quaker family. He apprenticed to the apothecary William Birtwhistle before going to study medicine at
Edinburgh University, where he became the favourite pupil of
William Cullen. He graduated M.D. on 12 September 1775. After spending some time on mainland Europe, he began to practise at
Papcastle in his native county, but shortly afterwards moved to
Denbigh. He was a member of the Society of Friends (
Quakers). However, in 1778 he accidentally shot a man in his garden through his window and this led to him being disowned by them. In 1782, he came to London, became physician to the
Middlesex dispensary, and was admitted a licentiate of the
College of Physicians on 9 August 1784. On 17 March 1791, he was elected physician to the smallpox and inoculation hospitals at St. Pancras, in succession to
Edward Archer. He published the first volume of a projected two-part history of inoculation (
variolation) in 1796. However, he became particularly interested in
Edward Jenner's introduction of what was soon to be known as
smallpox vaccine, which used material obtained from cases of cowpox. He was one of the first to try the new method, but his results differed substantially from Jenner's, and there was disagreement about the effects of the new procedure. It was suspected at the time that Woodville's vaccine had become contaminated with material from his smallpox patients, a conclusion supported by detailed analysis of the evidence. He had a strong taste for botany, and was elected a fellow of the
Linnean Society in 179. He appropriated two acres of ground at King's Cross belonging to the hospital as a botanical garden, which he maintained at his own expense. He wrote an important study of medical botany. Woodville lived in Ely Place,
Holborn. He died at the smallpox hospital on 26 March 1805, and was buried in the Friends' burial-ground,
Bunhill Fields, on 4 April. His portrait, by
Lemuel Abbott, was presented to the smallpox hospital. It was engraved by
William Bond. ==Writings==