William Rhodes Bernard, M.D., was born in Jamaica, and graduated doctor of medicine at Edinburgh 1st August, 1817 (D.M.I. de Calore Animalium). He was admitted a Licentiate of the College of Physicians 22nd December, 1820. He died at Cheltenham 27th January, 1868, aged seventy-six.

William Munk

Post publication addition

Bernard's father, David, was one of the owners of an estate in St James, Jamaica, called Eden. After his father's death, Bernard inherited part ownership of the estate and received income from it. In the last listing of estate assets before the abolition of slavery, there were 195 enslaved people on the Eden estate. When slavery was abolished in 1834, compensation was awarded to previous owners of enslaved people, based on the asset lists of their holdings. Bernard was awarded £298 of compensation in 1836 (1). This text was added in February 2021.

[(1) https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/46393  Accessed February 2021]