ABSTRACT
William Henry Duncan was born in Liverpool in 1805. After graduating in medicine in Edinburgh in 1829, he returned to Liverpool where he established himself in general practice. He presented papers and pamphlets to the local societies, particularly on health matters, most notably that delivered in March 1843 to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool on the physical causes of the high mortality rate in Liverpool. The first case of cholera in Liverpool was officially recorded on 17 May 1832. From then until the last case on 13 September 1832, there were 4,977 reported instances of the disease, with 1,523 deaths. Duncan gave evidence to the House of Commons' Committee on the Health of Towns in 1840 on the prevalence of disease among working classes and the high rate of mortality in Liverpool. This evidence was "stigmatised" by some of the public authorities of Liverpool, as was Duncan.
