William Brooke O'Shaughnessy

William O'Shaughnessy

William Brooke O'Shaughnessy (1808 - 1889) Irish physician. He is most famous for his introduction of cannabis and its healing properties to western medicine. He carried out experiments on the therapeutic uses of cannabis during his tenure as physician at the East India Company in Calcutta, India. He was also an expert on telegraphy, and is considered the father of Indian telegraph as he was responsible for laying of much of India's early telegraph lines under Lord Dalhousie's administration. O'Shaughnessy was knighted by Queen Victoria for his telegraph services in India. He also devised the first intravenous fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy for cholera patients. Much of his life after 1860, when he returned to Europe on sick leave, till his death in 1889 is obscure and remains an unsolved mystery.