William Heath Strange

William Heath Strange (15 June 1837 – 28 February 1907) founded the Hampstead General Hospital on the site now occupied by the Royal Free Hospital.

Early life and qualifications William was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, the youngest son of Mary and Robert Strange, a solicitor. He started his medical training at St Thomas's Hospital and in September 1862 he sat the Examination in Arts at the Worshipful Company of Apothecaries, which was a prerequisite for those who wanted medical qualifications, but did not have a relevant university degree. In the Apothecaries Hall on that day there were 51 gentlemen candidates and one lady candidate, Elizabeth Garrett, later Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon, who also founded a London hospital, the New Hospital for Women in Euston Road. Strange obtained his qualifications at the University of Aberdeen, graduating there MD and CM in 1866. One of his professors was William Pirrie, whose daughter he married,

Career

After qualifying he moved to the Belsize Park area of the Borough of Hampstead, starting a practice which would stretch over forty years. From the outset "Heath" as he became known,

Family life and death

William married Anna Jane Pirrie (1840–1919), the third daughter of William Pirrie, in Aberdeen on 24 May 1866. They had four children, William Pirrie (1869–1953), Mary Rose (1870–1943), Robert Gordon (1872–1947) and John Alexander (1875–1875).

William Heath Strange died suddenly, on the evening of 28 February 1907, as he was retiring for the night at his family home of many years, 2 Belsize Avenue.