William Beilby

Who is William Beilby?

William Beilby was an English-Scottish philanthropic physician in Edinburgh.

Born in 1783 in Sheffield, in 1807 he entered into a partnership in the linen trade with some relatives in Dublin, but in 1813 he moved to Edinburgh to study medicine. After taking the degree of M.D. in 1816, he settled in Edinburgh to practise midwifery. He soon obtained a high reputation in his profession, and was appointed physician accoucheur to the New Town Dispensary. He took a prominent interest in benevolent and religious matters, including the schemes of the Evangelical Alliance, and was the first president of the Medical Missionary Society. He died on 30 May 1849.