William Buchan

William Buchan (1729 – 25 February 1805) was a Scottish physician and writer. He is best known for his work Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines, which provided laypeople with detailed descriptions of the causes and prevention of diseases. Buchan's goal was one of "laying medicine more open to mankind." With over 80,000 copies and 19 editions sold in Buchan's lifetime, it was one of the most popular medical texts in Europe and even in the European colonies in the Americas, and was translated into almost every major European language.

Life and career

William Buchan was born in Ancrum, Roxburghshire, Scotland, in 1729. During his early years he attended a local grammar school and took a keen interest in medicine. At an early age with no formal training, he acted as one of the novice village physicians.

Upon entering Edinburgh University in 1749, he enrolled in the School of Divinity under pressure from his family. He soon replaced his theological studies with studies in mathematics, botany, and ultimately medicine. He completed his studies in medicine in 1758 after approximately nine years at the university.

After leaving the university, he started a small practice in rural Yorkshire before being appointed as a physician at the Foundling Hospital in Ackworth, Yorkshire in 1759. At the Foundling Hospital, he worked frequently with children. In 1761 he wrote his medical dissertation, On the Preservation of Infant Life, arguing that far too many infants were dying in Great Britain each year. There was little response to his work.