Francis Henry Williams

Francis Henry Williams (15 April 1852–22 June 1936) was an American medical doctor, a pioneer in the field of radiology.

Biography Williams was born on 15 April 1852, in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. His father was Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Williams graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1873, at the age of twenty-one, then studied medicine at Harvard University, where he obtained his Doctorate in Medicine in 1877. He then spent two years studying in Europe before returning to Boston to practice as a physician. He was awarded the titles of Instructor in Materia Medica and Therapeutics and Assistant Professor of Therapeutics from Harvard Medical School.

In 1892, he introduced bacterial examination to Boston City Hospital, and in 1894 was the first physician in the region to neutralize diphtheria with antitoxin. In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays ("Röntgen rays"); Williams lost no time in applying this innovation, beginning his use of fluoroscopy in 1896. Williams performed trials of Röntgen's experiments at the MIT laboratories, was instrumental in spreading awareness of new developments in radiology, and by 1903 was in its third edition. The book has been described as "the beginning of American radiological literature."

Williams was a member of many learned societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, the American Röntgen Ray Society, the American Radium Society, and the Radiological Society of North America.