Biography.guide
Home › People › Physician › William Gairdner
Portrait of William Gairdner

William Gairdner

1793 – 1867

Scottish physician

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About William Gairdner

Lived 1793 – 1867 (aged 73–74). William Gairdner was a British physician.

William Gairdner (11 November 1793 – 28 April 1867) was a Scottish physician and writer.

Gairdner was born at Mount Charles, Ayrshire on 11 November 1793. He was son of Robert Gairdner, a captain in the Bengal artillery. He was educated at University of Edinburgh and obtained he M.D. in 1813. He studied in London and worked as physician to the Earl of Bristol. He lived on Bolton Street, London and in 1823 was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. He authored On Gout, its History, its Causes, and its Cure in 1849, a work which went through four editions. It was an exposition of the main clinical features of gout and advocated treatment such as bleeding, moderate purgation, and the administration of colchicum. He married in 1822 and had one daughter.

Gairdner practiced medicine to the end of his life. He died at Avignon on 28 April 1867.

Selected publications

Essay on the Effects of Iodine on the Human Constitution (1824) On Gout: Its History, its Causes, and its Cure (1849, 1860)

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped William Gairdner's

Frequently asked questions

Who was William Gairdner?

Scottish physician

When was William Gairdner born?

William Gairdner was born on 11 November 1793 in Ayrshire.

When did William Gairdner die?

William Gairdner died in 1867 in Avignon.

What was William Gairdner's occupation?

William Gairdner was a physician.

What nationality was William Gairdner?

William Gairdner was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: William Gairdner

· Wikidata: Q18593588

· DBpedia: William Gairdner (physician)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). William Gairdner. https://biography.guide/william-gairdner/

MLA: "William Gairdner." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/william-gairdner/.

Chicago: "William Gairdner." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/william-gairdner/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:33 UTC