author
William Munk
1816–1898
Best known for creating the reference work now called Munk’s Roll, he helped preserve the lives and careers of generations of British physicians. He was also a working doctor whose long career linked bedside medicine with careful historical scholarship.
1 Audiobook
Euthanasia : or, Medical treatment in aid of an easy death
by William Munk
About the author
Born in Battle, Sussex, in September 1816, William Munk studied at University College London and earned his medical degree at Leiden in 1837. He went on to build a respected career as an English physician and became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
Alongside his medical practice, he devoted decades to the Royal College of Physicians as its Harveian Librarian. His lasting fame comes from compiling The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London, a major biographical record of the college’s fellows that became widely known as Munk’s Roll.
Munk died in December 1898, but his work continued to shape how medical history is remembered. For many readers today, he stands out not only as a Victorian doctor, but as someone who carefully saved the stories of other doctors for the future.