Sir William Osler (1849–1919) and the paternity of William Willoughby Francis (1878–1959): Review of the evidence

It has been suggested that beneath the sunny personality and enormous productivity of Sir William Osler (1849-1919) lurked a deep sorrow. A longstanding rumor suggests this sorrow was a prolonged affair with an older first cousin, Marian Osler (Bath) Francis (1841-1915), which resulted in Osler's paternity of William Willoughby Francis (1878-1959). Osler treated W.W. Francis like a son. Francis after Osler's death devoted the rest of his life …