Gowers, William Richard (1845-1915)

English physician and neurologist. Besides being an outstanding neurologist, he invented the haemoglobinometer, a device which measures the amount of haemoglobin in blood, and improved the haemocytometer, a device for counting the blood corpuscles.

Born in London, England, he qualified in medicine at University College, London, in 1867, and received his MD in 1870. In 1880, Gowers was appointed physician to the National Hospital in Queen Square, and later became professor of clinical medicine at University College Hospital and physician there.

His writings include Diagnosis of Diseases of the Spinal Cord (1880), Epilepsy and other Chronic Convulsive Diseases (1881), Diagnosis of Diseases of the Brain (1885), and Manual of Diseases of The Nervous System (1886-88).