William James Anderson
Encyclopedia
William James Anderson (2 November 1812 – 15 May 1873) was a physician, amateur geologist, and historian of Scottish descent.
He studied medicine at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he obtained the degree of MD
MD
- Science :* Doctor of Medicine, from the Latin Medicinæ Doctor * Macular degeneration, a condition characterized by progressive thinning and atrophy of the macula area of the retina* Mahalanobis distance, a distance measure introduced by P. C...
. Anderson was a physician in the Maritimes in the 1830s. At that time he developed an interest in the history and geology of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. After a serious health problem he left the medical profession and the Maritimes in 1847. He was in the lumber business in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and moved to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
in 1860.
In 1973, Anderson died in Quebec City of Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. He was survived by a wife and daughter.