Happy Birthday, Sir William!

July 12, 2018 marks the 169th birthday of Sir William Osler, MD. He was born in rural Bond Head, Ontario, Canada where his father was a minister with a small parish. 

From the time he was a child, Osler was always noted as having eyes like "little-burnt-holes-in-a-blanket" and in almost every single image of him, you find that this is true. Osler's dark eyes, along with his walrus mustache, were emblematic of his look, from his college portraits until the day he died. 

Osler went from school in Weston just outside of Toronto, to Montreal, to Philadelphia, on to Baltimore and finally to Oxford, England. 

In Baltimore, he lived at No. 1 West Franklin Street,

and eventually bought the adjacent house so that his students and others would have a place to gather. He called the residents of that house, "Latch-Keyers" and it was a point of pride to have a key to the house. 

At the greatly advanced age of 40, Osler married for the first time. His wife moved to Baltimore from Philadelphia where she was the widow of a prominent physician, and friend of Osler's. 

Throughout his life, he accumulated friends and in England, he welcomed many of them to his house in Oxford which was nicknamed "Open Arms." 

Please join us in sending birthday wishes to MedChi friend and patron, Sir William Osler. We salute you!