William Guy born on 13 June 1810 was a famous British Physician and a medical statistician. He attended Christ's Hospital, a popular boarding school located in the south of Horsham, West Sussex, England. Later, he was graduated from Guy's Hospital, a large teaching hospital located in south-east London. William Guy went on to pursue his higher education in University of Heidelberg and University of Paris. In the year 1837, he got his Bachelor of Medicine degree from University of Cambridge.
Immediately after his graduation in medical science, William Guy joined the King's College London, a British higher education institution, in the year 1842, where he taught forensic medicine to his students. Apart from teaching in the college, he was also appointed as an assistant physician at King's College Hospital and was given the responsibility to attend the outdoor patients.
Although he started his career as a professor at King's College London, William Guy became the Dean of the faculty of medicine in the year 1846 and retained his position till 1858. He joined Royal College of Physicians, one of the oldest colleges in England and was offered the posts of Croonian (1861), Lumleian (1868), and Harveian (1875) lecturer.
William Guy became the editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, a series of three peer-reviewed statistics journals published by Blackwell Publishing. In 1873, he became the president of the Royal Statistical Society, a professional body for statisticians in the UK and headed the society till 1875.
William Guy extended his contribution to the society by serving the as a Medical Superintendent at Millbank Prison from 1859 to 1869. Over the period of ten year, he was working as a semi-official government advisor, who instructs on health, diet and hygiene that has to be followed in the prison in order to promote the healthy life of the prisoners.
In 1876, William Guy was appointed as the vice-president of Royal Society, a learned body for science established in the year 1660. Apart from teaching, he authored two books, namely, Principles of Forensic Medicine in 1844 and Public Health in 1874. William Guy published many statistical papers to help the new and upcoming statisticians as well as to develop the statistical society. For promoting health and hygiene, William Guy founded the Health of Towns Association and served the country by being a member of Commission on Penal Servitude and Criminal Lunacy.
For his contribution to the field of medical statistics, the Royal Statistical Society presents ‘Guy Medals’ for statisticians to honour William Guy. Statisticians who have contributed innovative ideas to the theory or application of statistics are awarded with the Guy Medal in Gold. The Guy Medal in Silver is awarded only to members of the society, who have made a paper presentation or published articles in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Young statisticians under the age of 35, who have contributed articles to the society’s journals or made a paper presentation in its meeting, are awarded with the Guy Medal in Bronze.
