Budd, William (1811–1880)

English physician and pioneer epidemiologist. In 1839 he began to study the origin and transmission of typhoid fever, a subject which became his life work. In 1842 he settled in Bristol, England, becoming physician to the Royal Infirmary there (1847–62). Budd zealously promoted Bristol water-works and did much for the improvement of sanitation. His publications include Typhoid Fever, its Nature, Mode of Spreading, and Prevention (1873).

Budd was born at North Tawton, Devon, England. He was educated in London, Edinburgh, and Paris, France. He qualified as MD in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1838, and was gold medallist for an essay on acute rheumatism. In 1873 ill health obliged him to give up practice. Among his other publications are Malignant Cholera (1849) and Scarlet Fever and its Prevention (1871).