Background
Duncan was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents.
Duncan was born in Liverpool to Scottish parents.
University of Edinburgh.
He was the nephew of James Currie, an earlier influential Liverpool physician. He was also the nephew of Henry Duncan of Ruthwell and received his early education in Scotland, under Henry Duncan"s protection. William Henry Duncan qualified as a medical doctor in Edinburgh, returning to Liverpool to work in general practice.
He was appointed Medical Officer of Health on 1 January 1847.
Duncan was one of the celebrated trio of pioneering officers appointed under a private act (the Liverpool Sanatory Acting 1846) by the Borough"s Health of the Town Committee. The others being James Newlands, Borough Engineer, and Thomas Fresh, Inspector of Nuisances (though it was recently discovered that Fresh had already been in a non-statutory version of the post for several years before this).
A public in Liverpool called Doctor Duncan"s is named in his honour. One of the buildings of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Liverpool is named after William Duncan, The Duncan Building, whose entrance is on Daulby Street.
Duncan is buried in Westpark, Elgin.