Sir William Withey Gull was one of the most famous physicians of his age. His path to medicine did not follow the usual route. Born in Colchester, his father was a barge owner, who died when he was 10. Gull taught himself Greek and the Treasurer of Guy’s Hospital, who happened to live in the same village, helped him get an apprenticeship at Guy's. He moved to London in 1837. He attended lectures, and in 1843 he was appointed lecturer and Medical Tutor. In 1846, he earned his M.D. degree at the University of London, and gained the gold medal. In 1851 he was made an Assistant Physician, and in 1856 was appointed as a full Physician. Gull was elected Fullerian Professor of Physiology at the Royal Institution in 1847, and the following year he delivered the Gulstonian Lectures at the College of Physicians. He became a DCL of Oxford in 1868 and in 1869 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society. In 1871, he successfully treated the Prince of Wales during a life-threatening attack of typhoid fever, and as a result was created a Baronet and appointed to be one of the Physicians-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria. He spent his entire career at Guy's Hospital.