Born in Glasgow and educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, Robert William Philip graduated with a MB CM with honours from Edinburgh in 1882. Within five years of graduation, Robert Philip's interest in the cure and prevention of tuberculosis was becoming recognised in medical circles. In 1887 he was awarded a gold medal for his MD thesis, 'An inquiry into the actual cause of death in tuberculosis'. In the same year, he founded the Victoria Dispensary in a flat of three rooms in Bank Street, Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, the dispensary staff, visiting closes and garrets, demonstrated the magnitude of the problem of dealing with open lung disease and contacts. The Royal Victoria Hospital for Consumption was opened in 1894 at Craigleith, where Robert Philip was able to carry out the fresh air treatment he strongly advocated.