William Gull, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

William Gull

physician

Date of Birth: 31-Dec-1816

Place of Birth: Colchester, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 29-Jan-1890

Profession: physician, physiologist

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet (31 December 1816 – 29 January 1890), was a 19th-century English physician.
Of modest family origins, he rose through the ranks of the medical profession to establish a lucrative private practice and serve in a number of prominent roles, including Governor of Guy's Hospital, Fullerian Professor of Physiology and President of the Clinical Society.
In 1871, having successfully treated the Prince of Wales during a life-threatening attack of typhoid fever, he was created a Baronet and appointed to be one of the Physicians-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria. Gull made a number of significant contributions to medical science, including advancing the understanding of myxoedema, Bright's disease, paraplegia and anorexia nervosa (for which he first established the name). A widely discredited masonic/royal conspiracy theory created in the 1970s alleged that Gull knew the identity of Jack the Ripper, or even that he himself was the murderer.
Although dismissed by scholars, its dramatic nature let the theory evolve and remain popular among producers of fictional works, despite Gull being 71 years old and of ill health when the murders were committed.
Examples for his portrayal as Jack the Ripper include the 1988 TV film Jack the Ripper starring Michael Caine as well as the 1996 graphic novel From Hell and its subsequent film adaptation.