William Gowers

William Gowers and William Osler first met in 1878, and Osler visited Gowers often when in London. Osler dedicated his book On Chorea and Choreiform Affections to Gowers in 1894, addressing himself as Gowers’ sincere friend. Two warm letters between Osler and Gowers exist in the Osler Library Archives, highlighting their strong friendship, and Gowers’ son Ernest wrote Osler a letter after the death of his father. Referring to the relationship between William Osler and William Gowers, he noted that Osler had indeed been a good friend to him all through.

James Ross (1837–1892) was an Aberdeen medical graduate who, after 13 years in rural general practice, mainly in Lancashire, became a pathologist and then physician to the Manchester Royal Infirmary and professor of medicine at Owens College, Manchester. In mid-career he developed a major interest in clinical neurology and became, apart from Byrom Bramwell in Edinburgh, the only contemporary British physician outside London who had widely recognised neurological expertise.