William Henry Duncan 1805-1863

In 1846 Liverpool became the first city in the world to appoint a Medical Officer of Health when it appointed Dr William Henry Duncan (1805-1863) to this position, which he took up on 1st January 1847. Duncan had been born in Liverpool and studied at Edinburgh University. At that time in Liverpool many of the poor lived in overcrowded court houses or cellars, the overcrowding having been exacerbated by the large influx of Irish immigrants following the potato famine.

Read more.........