William Beaumont was a surgeon in the U.S. Army who became known as the "Father of Gastric Physiology" for his research on human digestion on Alexis St. Martin.

Alexis Bidagan dit St-Martin was a Canadian voyageur who is known for his part in experiments on digestion in humans, conducted on him by the American Army physician William Beaumont between 1822 and 1833. St-Martin was shot in a near-fatal accident in 1822. His wound did not heal fully, leaving an opening into his stomach. Studies of St-Martin's stomach led to greater understanding of the stomach, gastric juices and the processes of digestion.