William Robert Cornish

[2] The physician, Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson, who considered Cornish to be an authority on Indian foodgrains and their chemical composition, often referred to this report in his lectures in Great Britain on public health.

[2] In 1858, Cornish returned to Madras City to assume the post of Secretary of the Medical Department of the presidency.

[2] Soon afterwards, he was entrusted with investigating and writing a report on the high rates of mortality among British soldiers serving in the presidency army.

[3] In it, he argued that European methods of wet drainage (using sewers and drains), were not optimal for tropical climates, where waste decomposed faster and where, in the summer months, there was water shortage;[3] in their stead, he advocated "dry conservancy," which was ultimately adopted in hospitals, army barracks, and railway stations in many parts of India.

[4] In his new position, he traveled throughout the presidency promoting dry conservancy, clean drinking water, and vaccination against small-pox.

[4] During the Great Famine of 1876–78, which hit the Madras Presidency especially hard, Cornish became embroiled in a public debate with Sir Richard Temple, then Famine Commissioner of India, about what constituted an adequate diet for people on relief, many of whom toiled in the "relief works," laying roads and breaking rocks or metal.

[6] Soon, he was also appointed Honorary Physician to Queen Victoria and nominated to the Legislative Council of the Madras presidency.