William Brooke O'Shaughnessy

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Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, M.D. (1808 - 1889) was born in Limerick in October 1808. O'Shaughnessy graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1829.

He studied forensic toxicology and chemistry in England, and in 1831, at the age of 22, he introduced intravenous fluid and electrolyte-replacement therapy in the treatment of cholera.^[1] He joined the British East India Company in 1833 and moving to Calcutta. He remained in India for approximately 9 years, where he fulfilled the roles of surgeon, physician, professor of chemistry and scientist.

His first stint in India were marked by work in the subjects of botanical pharmacology, chemistry, telegraphy, galvanic electricity, and underwater conduction, among others. In 1841 he returned to England where he introduced cannabis sativa to Western medicine and continued his scientific writings. "

“He graduated Edinburgh Medical School in Scotland. He validated folk uses of cannabis in India, discovered new applications, and ultimately recommended gunjah for a great variety of therapeutic purposes. O’ Shaughnessy established his reputation by successfully relieving the pain of rheumatism and stilling the convulsions of an infant with this strange new drug. He eventually popularized its use back in England. His most famous success came when he quelled the wrenching muscle spasm of tetanus and rabies with resin. While he could not cure this man or other terminal patients, he did observe that the medicine reduced their symptoms of spasticity and their suffering, and allowed them to reappraise their circumstances and take on a dignified acceptance of their own mortality.”

("Hemp for Health" Chris Conrad p 20-21)

In 1844 he returned to India where he worked in various government positions in the fields of pharmacology and assay. During this period he began work on various telegraph instruments and systems.

After briefly returning to England in 1852, he was appointed Superintendent of Telegraphs in 1853. During the years 1853-5 he installed 3500 miles of telegraph across India and wrote numerous manuals and reports on his telegraph inventions.

In 1856, O'Shaughnessy returned to England where he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his work on the telegraph in India, he was also appointed Director-General of Telegraphs at this time. During the following years he wrote on subjects relating to telegraphy, including a book of Private Codes for encrypted telegraphy.

In 1860 he returned to Europe for sick leave where he remained in obscurity until his death in January 1889.