William Michell was a British physician and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

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The son of Bennet Michell, he was born in Bodmin

Bodmin

Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...

 in 1796. He wrote a paper on the use of ergot

Ergot

Ergot or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus Claviceps. The most prominent member of this group is Claviceps purpurea. This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its...

 in childbirth in 1828; that year he was also admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...

, receiving a MB

Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...

 in 1834, and a MD

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 in 1839. Michell was admitted an MRCS

Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons

MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...

 in 1843. He was elected an MP for Bodmin

Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)

Bodmin was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Cornwall from 1295 until 1983. Initially, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England and later the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until the 1868 general...

 in 1852.

In 1859, faced with a petition against him by James Wyld for corrupt practices during the elections, he agreed not to defend his seat if Wyld would withdraw the petition. Attacked by John Arthur Roebuck

John Arthur Roebuck

John Arthur Roebuck , British politician, was born at Madras, in India.After the death of his father, a civil servant, his mother's second marriage transferred him to Canada, where he was chiefly brought-up. He came to England in 1824, was called to the bar John Arthur Roebuck (28 December 1802...

, who saw in this an attempt to escape charges, Michell replied that his means were insufficient to sustain the expenses necessary to defend himself against the petition. Roebuck's motion to prevent him from resigning was defeated, and he left Parliament by becoming Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. He died in Plymouth in 1872.