Mathieu Orfila

Mathieu Orfila

Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787 - 1853) Spanish born French toxicologist, regarded as the founder of forensic medicine. Orfila was one of the first to publish books on toxicology and patterns of decomposition of dead bodies. He was consulted as the foremost toxicologist for evidence in many celebrated murder cases in 19th century France. Orfila was also a physician, but his primary interest was in forensic and legal medicine. One of his most celebrated cases was the sensational Marie LaFarge case in 1840, in which he conclusively proved that arsenic was used as a poison to perpetrate the murder.

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.