Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy, M.D. (1808 - 1889) was born in Limerick in October 1808. O'Shaughnessy graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School in 1829.

He studied forensic toxicology and chemistry in England before joining the East India Company in 1833 and moving to Calcutta. He remained in India for approximately 9 years, where he fulfilled the roles of surgeon, physician, professor of chemistry and scientist.

His first stint in India were marked by work in the subjects of botanical pharmacology , chemistry, telegraphy, galvanic electricity, and underwater conduction, among others. In 1841 he returned to England where he introduced cannabis sativa to Western medicine and continued his scientific writings.

In 1844 he returned to India where he worked in various government positions in the fields of pharmacology and assay. During this period he began work on various telegraph instruments and systems.

After briefly returning to England in 1852, he was appointed Superintendent of Telegraphs in 1853. During the years 1853-5 he installed 3500 miles of telegraph across India and wrote numerous manuals and reports on his telegraph inventions.

In 1856, O'Shaughnessy returned to England where he was knighted by Queen Victoria for his work on the telegraph in India, he was also appointed Director-General of Telegraphs at this time. During the following years he wrote on subjects relating to telegraphy, including a book of Private Codes for encrypted telegraphy. In 1860 he returned to Europe for sick leave where he remained in obscurity until his death in January 1889.