William Franklin

William Franklin was born in London in 1763. He studied medicine in Aberdeen and was awarded his MD in 1795. Prior to that he became assistant surgeon in the British Army in 1787 and surgeon in the 15th Regiment of Foot in May 1790. In 1796 he became assistant inspector of hospitals and in 1800 was promoted to assistant inspector general, serving first in Egypt and then Malta. By 1802 he was inspector of hospitals, running the Lazaretto Hospital and overseeing medical services in Sicily. In 1804 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and in 1820 a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He achieved the rank of principal inspector general in 1810 and retired on 1 July 1833. He died later that year in London.