The Old Humanities and the New Science

William Osler Born in Canada on July 12, 1849, and passing away on December 29, 1919, Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, FRS FRCP, was one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler was the pioneer in developing the first residency program for medical specialty training and in bringing medical students out of the lecture hall for hands-on instruction in patient care. He has been called one of the "greatest diagnosticians ever to wield a stethoscope" and the Father of Modern Medicine on numerous occasions. He was a doctor, but he was also an author, historian, bibliophile, and famous practical joker. Having formed the History of Medicine Society (formerly known as the "section") at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, he had a strong interest in medical libraries and medical history. The father of William Osler, the Reverend Featherstone Lake Osler (1805-1895), was a former lieutenant in the Royal Navy who served aboard HMS Victory. He was the son of a shipowner in Falmouth, Cornwall. Due to his father's impending death, Featherstone Osler declined an invitation to be Charles Darwin's science officer on HMS Beagle during the illustrious journey to the Galápagos Islands in 1831. Featherstone Osler declared his desire to become a Church of England pastor in 1833.