William Macmichael

Born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, in 1783, William Macmichael studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and went on to build a distinguished career as a physician. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and he also served at the Middlesex Hospital and as physician to both George IV and William IV.

Alongside his medical work, he wrote books that helped preserve the history of British medicine. He is most closely associated with The Gold-Headed Cane (1827), a lively and memorable account of famous doctors told through the story of a cane passed from one physician to another. He also wrote Lives of British Physicians, confirming his reputation as a thoughtful medical biographer.

Macmichael died in 1839, but his work still stands out for making medical history feel human, vivid, and readable. For listeners interested in the people behind the profession, his writing offers a rare blend of scholarship and personality.