nineteenth century

In the nineteenth century it was not uncommon for doctors to die from infectious diseases, but the death of five young physicians in Greenock – one third of the medical profession in a medium-sized Scottish town – from epidemic typhus, during four consecutive months in 1864–65, was an unusual event. This paper describes the lives and backgrounds of these five doctors, whose deaths in the line of duty earned them the description ‘medical martyrs’.

Keywords Epidemic, Greenock, medical biography, nineteenth century, typhus