Description: It has been 200 years since the Stourbridge general practitioner William Norris first described his experience with melanoma, "A Case of Fungoid Disease," in the Medical and Surgical Journal of Edinburgh in 1820. Not only is this the first paper to describe a patient with metastatic melanoma in the British literature, but Norris is also credited with the first reported case of familial atypical melanoma mole syndrome.
William Norris MD is often mentioned in the current literature of melanoma but, apart from his important paper, little is mentioned about the man himself, his training, the era he practiced in, his humanity, his apprenticeship or his other achievements. This paper will explore his life, his work, and his bitterness with his lack of recognition for these extraordinary achievements.