USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from its foundation in 1765 > Part 6
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"It was agreed that in pursuance of a Proposal given in by the Medical Trustees and Professors, the examination of the Medical Students for the degree of Bachelor of Physic shall be made in the following mode, according to the Rule origi- nally laid down for the Medical Schools, which requires a full private examination before admission to the public one.
"Wherefore the private examination shall begin in the College, on the 9th of May, being Monday next, and shall be finished on Monday, the 16th. Such of the Medical Students as may appear fit, after such private examination, shall be admitted to a public examination in the College on Wednes- day, the 18th of May."
The ceremonies attending the Commencement of June 21, 1768, are minutely detailed upon the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, and are full of interest in connection with the customs of the time. They are thus set forth :-
" This day may be considered as the Birth-day of Medical Honors in America. The Trustees being met at half an hour past nine in the forenoon, and the several Professors and Medical Candidates, in their proper Habits, proceeded from the Apparatus Room to the Public Hall, where a polite assembly of their fellow-citizens were convened to honor the Solemnity.
" The Provost having there received the Mandate for the Commencement from his Honor the Governor, as President of the Trustees, introduced the business of the day with Prayers and a short Latin Oration, suited to the occasion. The part alluding to the School of Medicine is in the follow- ing language :-
"'Oh! Factum bene! Vos quoque Professores Medici, qui magno nummi, temporis et laboris sumptu, longâ quoque peregrinatione per varias regiones, et populos, domum re- duxistis et peritiam, et nobile consilium servandi, et rationali praxi, docendi alios servare valetudinem vestrâm civium. Gratum fecistis omnibus, sed pergratum certé peritis illis medicis, qui artis suæ dignitatis conscii, praxin rationalem, et juventutis institutionem in re medicâ liberalem, hisce re- gionibus, ante vos longé desideraverunt.'
" To this succeeded-
"1. A Latin oration, delivered by Mr. John Lawrence,
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'De Honoribus qui in omni ævo in veros Medicina cultores collati fuerint.'
"2. A dispute, whether the Retina or Tunica Choroides be the immediate seat of vision ? The argument for the retina was ingeniously maintained by Mr. Cowell; the opposite side of the question was supported with great acuteness by Mr. Ful- lerton, who contended that the Retina is incapable of the office ascribed to it, on account of its being easily permeable to the rays of light, and that the choroid coat, by its being opaque, is the proper part for stopping the rays, and receiving the picture of the object.
" 3. Questio, num detur Fluidum Nervosum? Mr. Duffield held the affirmative, and Mr. Way the negative, both with great learning.
" 4. Mr. Tilton delivered an essay 'On Respiration,' and the manner in which it was performed did credit to his abilities.
"5. The Provost then conferred the degree of Bachelor of Medicine on the following gentlemen, viz: Messrs. John Archer, of New Castle County ; Benjamin Cowell, of Bucks ; Samuel Duffield and Jonathan Potts, of Philadelphia ; Jona- than Elmer, of New Jersey ; Humphrey Fullerton, of Lan- caster County ; David Jackson, of Chester County; John Law- rence, of East Jersey ; James Tilton, of Kent County, Dela- ware; and. Nicholas Way, of Wilmington.
"6. An elegant valedictory oration was spoken by Mr. Potts, 'On the Advantages derived in the Study of Physic, from a previous liberal education in the other sciences.'
" The Provost then addressed the Graduates in a brief Ac- count of the present state of the College, and of the quick progress in the various extensive establishments it hath already made. He pointed out the general causes of the advancement as well as decline of literature in different Nations of the World, and observed to the Graduates, that as they were the first who had received medical honors in America, on a regular Collegiate plan, it depended much on them, by their future conduct and eminence, to place such honors in estimation among their countrymen; concluding with an earnest appeal that they would never neglect the opportuni-
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ties which their profession would give them, when their art could be of no further service to the body, of making serious impressions on their patients, and showing themselves men of consolation and piety, especially at the awful approach of death, which could not fail to have singular weight from a lay character.
" Dr. Shippen, Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, then gave the remainder of the charge, further inviting the Gra- duates to support the dignity of their Profession by a lauda- ble perseverance in their studies, and by a Practice becoming the character of gentlemen; adding many useful precepts respecting their conduct towards their patients, charity towards the poor, humanity towards all; and with reference to the opportunities they might have of gaining the confi- dence of the sick, and esteem of every one who by their vigilance and skill might be relieved from suffering, and restored to health.
" The Vice-Provost concluded the whole with Prayer and Thanksgiving."1
At a public Commencement held June 30, 1769, the degree of Bachelor of Medicine was conferred on eight candidates, viz: James Armstrong, John Hodge, John Houston, Josias Carroll Hall, Thomas Pratt, Alexander Skinner, Myndert Veeder, and John Winder. The exercises were of a charac- ter similar to the preceding, the charge being given by Dr. Bond.2
In the year 1769, Dr. Benjamin Rush, on his return from Europe, was elected Professor of Chemistry. He was born in Pennsylvania, in 1745. His classical education was com- menced at the celebrated school of Rev. Dr. Finley, at Not- tingham, in Maryland; and so well trained was he that he entered the Senior Class at Princeton College, and graduated at the expiration of the term in 1760, when hardly sixteen years of age. President Davies was then at the head of the Institution. The next six years of his life were spent in the study of medicine with Dr. Redman, and he was one of the
" The account is published in the Pennsylvania Gazette, July, 1768.
2 See Appendix B.
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first pupils in attendance upon the lectures of Dr. Shippen. In 1766 he went to Edinburgh, where, in 1768, he took his degree of Doctor of Medicine; the same year in which the first medical honors were conferred in America. The subject of his thesis was " De coctione ciborum in ventriculo."
It is stated by Dr. Ramsay, in his culogium, "that the Writings of Hippocrates were among the first books Benjamin Rush read in Medicine, and, while he was an apprentice, translated his Aphorisms from Greek into English. He also began to keep a note-book of remarkable occurrences, the plan of which he afterwards improved and continued through life. From a part of this record, written in the seventeenth year of his age, we derive the only account of the yellow fever of 1762, which has descended to posterity." An account of this same epidemic has recently been published by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, from a manuscript of Dr. Redman, found among its Archives.1
The desire of Dr. Rush to become the incumbent of the Chair of Chemistry in the Medical School of Philadelphia, was formed while he was still a student at Edinburgh, and in this he was evidently supported by the friendly suggestions of Dr. Morgan. In a letter to this gentleman, dated Jan. 20, 1768, he thus expresses himself: "I exult in the happy pros- pects, which now open upon you, of the success of the Medi- cal Schools you have established in Philadelphia. The scheme you have published for conferring degrees in Physic has met with the approbation of Dr. Cullen himself, who interests himself warmly in everything that relates to your reputation or success in life; he thinks himself happy, he says, in edu- cating those young men to whom so important a Medical College as that in Philadelphia will owe its foundation and future credit."
" I thank you for the pains you have taken to secure me the Professorship of Chemistry. I think I am now master of
1 An Account of the Yellow Fever, as it prevailed in Philadelphia in the Autumn of 1762, by John Redman, M. D., First President of the Col- lege. A paper presented to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, at its stated meeting, September 7, 1793, now for the first time published by order of the College, 1865.
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the science, and could teach it with confidence and ease. I have attended Dr. Black for two years diligently, and have, I think, received from him a comprehensive and accurate view of the science, together with all his late improvements in chemistry, which are of so important a nature that no man, in my opinion, can understand or teach chemistry as a science without being acquainted with them." "As to the experiments you speak of, there is scarcely one of them but what I have seen twice performed, either publickly or pri- vately, by Dr. Black." Again: "I would not, however, urge your interest too warmly in this affair; perhaps I may dis- appoint the expectations of the Trustees, and prevent a person better qualified from filling the chair. I should like to teach Chemistry as a Professor, because I think I could show its application to medicine and philosophy." "I should likewise be able more fully, from having a seat in the Col- lege, to co-operate with you in advancing the Medical Sciences generally."
Of the certainty of his election Dr. Rush must have re- ceived an intimation, as in October, 1768, he thus wrote from London to Dr. Morgan: " I am much obliged to you for con- tinuing to read lectures upon Chemistry. I hope to be in Philadelphia in May or June next, so that I shall relieve you from the task the ensuing winter. Is it necessary for me to deliver publickly an Inaugural Oration ? Something must be said in favor of the advantages of Chemistry to Medicine, and its usefulness to medical philosophy, as the people of our country in general are strangers to the nature and objects of the science."
The language of Dr. Rush, in the extracts from his corres- pondence which have been presented, indicates that although conscious of his own acquirements, ambitious of advance- ment in connection with usefulness, animated almost by a prescience of the distinction to which he ultimately attained, and relying on a will and industry to secure success in the position he desired, he was still diffident in the expression of his fitness for the office.
The wishes of Dr. Rush were fully realized. At a meet- ing of the Board of Trustees, July 23, 1769, a letter was read
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from Thomas Penn, Esq., dated May, 1769, of which the fol- lowing is a copy :-.
"GENTLEMEN: Dr. Rush having been recommended to me by Dr. Fothergill as a very expert Chymist, and the Doctor having further recommended to me to send a Chymical Appa- ratus to the College, as a Thing that will be of great use, particularly in the tryal of ores, I send you such as Dr. Fothergill thought necessary, under the care of Dr. Rush, which I desire your acceptance of. I recommend Dr. Rush to your notice, and humbly wishing success to the College, remain, with great regard,
"Your very affectionate friend, THOS. PENN. " To the Trustees of the College of Philadelphia."
The following is a part of an address to the Hon. Thomas Penn, Esq., approved and signed August 1, 1769 :-
" We have likewise the pleasure to acknowledge a fresh instance of your benevolence in sending us a Chemical Appa- ratus under the care of Dr. Rush, who will meet with all the encouragement from us due to your recommendation and his own good character."
At the same meeting, a letter was submitted by Dr. Rush, applying for the Professorship of Chemistry.
" GENTLEMEN: As the Professorship of Chemistry, which Dr. Morgan hath some time supplied, is vacant, I beg to offer myself as a Candidate for it. Should you think proper to honor me with the Chair, you may depend upon my doing anything that lies in my power to discharge the duties of a Professor, and to promote the reputation and interest of your College.
" I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect, Your most obedient, humble servant,
BENJ. RUSH. " PHILADELPHIA, July 31, 1769."
" In consequence of the above application, and in con- sideration of Dr. Rush's character as an able Chemist, he was
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unanimously appointed Professor of Chemistry in the Col- lege."
From the more complete organization of the Medical Faculty, effected in the manner now detailed, the session of 1769-70 may be regarded as the commencement of greater vigor in the School. The Announcement stood as follows :-
Theory and Practice of Medicine, JOHN MORGAN, M. D.
Anatomy, Surgery, and Midwifery, W M. SHIPPEN, JR., M.D. Materia Medica and Botany, ADAM KUHN, M. D.
Chemistry, BENJAMIN RUSH, M. D.
Clinical Medicine, THOMAS BOND, M. D.
Additionally to the strictly medical courses, the Rev. Dr. Smith, Provost, delivered lectures on Natural Philosophy to the Class.1
It may be of interest to know the ages of the above-named members of the Faculty of Medicine at the period of its exist- ence in 1769. Like the School itself, the Professors would, in these days, be considered juvenile; but in the vigor of their youth, they were capable of accomplishing great things, and failed not in their endeavor. Rush was but twenty-four years old; Kuhn but twenty-eight; Shippen thirty-three ; and Morgan thirty-four. Bond only had arrived at that age when experience is supposed to bring the greatest wisdom ; he was over fifty years.
At the Commencement before referred to in June, 1771, the degree of Bachelor of Physic was conferred on Benjamin Allison, Jonathan Easton, John Kuhn, Frederick Kuhn, Bodo Otto, Robert Pottinger, and William Smith.
Four graduates who had received the primary degree in 1768, now received that of Doctor of Medicine, viz : Jonathan Potts, whose thesis was " De Febribus Intermittentibus Po- tissimum Tertianis ;" James Tilton, " De Hydrope ;" Nicholas Way, "De Variolarum Insitione;" Jonathan Elmer, " De Causis et Remediis sitis in Febribus."2
The theses of these gentlemen were written in the Latin
1 Appendix C.
2 Appendix D.
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language, and, according to the rule heretofore given, as enacted in 1767, were published.
Professor Beck has fallen partially into error in his inte- resting historical sketch, when he states that no medical journal of any description appears to have been published until after the war of our Independence; and that "the only inau- gural dissertation that was published was from the New York College in 1771, by Samuel Kissam, M. D., 'On the Anthel- mintic Virtue of the Phasceolus Zuratensis;' 'Siliqua Hir- suta, or Cow-itch,' a copy of which may be seen in the library of the New York Historical Society." In this he is evidently mistaken, for the theses of the graduates of the College of Philadelphia were published in 1771, and are now in existence.
1
-
Şir Astkey Paston Cooper. 1768- 1841.
SIR ASTLEY PASTON COOPER
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CHAPTER VI.
Connection between the medical department of the College of Philadelphia and that of the University of Edinburgh-Sketch of the origin of the Edinburgh school and of its position in 1768-Dr. Cullen.
FROM a comparison of the course of instruction in the Col- lege of Philadelphia, from the time of its inception to that of its complete organization, with that of the University of Edinburgh, there can be no doubt that this distinguished school was taken as the model for imitation.
The individuals who composed the medical faculty of the College, the first occupants of the chairs, were graduates of the Edinburgh school, and had unavoidably acquired an affection and preference for its system of instruction. They were familiar with all its details and methods; and on assuming their positions the bright days of their student life were vivid in their memories. Regarding with reverence and enthusiastic admiration the men who had been their preceptors, it was most natural that these zealous colonial students should desire to transfer to their native shores the peculiar doctrines that had been inculcated, as well as the stores of learning of which they had been the recipients.
But further, between our own school and that of Edinburgh the parallelism is so close as to be worthy of particular atten- tion; indeed, the resemblance can only be explained by the laws of descent which mould the features of the child like those of the parent, and impart similar moral and mental cha- racteristics. The medical school of Philadelphia may be said to be the legitimate offspring of that of Edinburgh. The latter had its origin with the Scotch students in attendance upon the lectures of the University of Leyden, who forty years previously were actuated by the same motives which prompted the American students, while abroad, to the projec- tion of their enterprise.
We are told by Dr. Fothergill that "there had long been
.
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Professorships for Medicine in Edinburgh (connected with the College of Surgeons), and several attempts had been made to introduce a general course of Medical instruction; but it was not until the year 1720 that this University distinguished itself. Several gentlemen who had studied under Boerhaave with the view to revive the study of Medicine in their native country where it had formerly flourished, qualified themselves for the purpose of giving courses of public lectures on every branch of their profession. The celebrated Monro taught Anatomy after having studied it for several years under the ablest masters then in Europe. The Theory of Physic was assigned to the amiable, the humane Dr. Sinclair; Drs. Ruther- ford and Innes chose the Practice; Chemistry was allotted to Dr. Plummer ; and the teaching of Materia Medica (of which last he was appointed King's Professor) devolved upon the learned and indefatigable Alston."] With what success the labors of these enterprising men were crowned, the record of the uniform, unswerving advancement of the Medical School of Edinburgh, and its eminent position now, afford the evi- dence. Has not the institution which was founded by Mor- gan and Shippen, by Kuhn and Rush, and Bond, been found equally worthy of praise and admiration ?
Lectures upon anatomy were given in Edinburgh in 1694, by Mr. Monteith, and subsequently he delivered lectures on chemistry. Mr. Robert Eliot was appointed, in 1705, the first Professor of Anatomy in the University. To him succeeded, in 1714, Mr. Drummond, who had associated with him Mr. Magill, but in consequence of the difficulty of procuring subjects and of numerous drawbacks, which rendered their instruction irre- gular and unsatisfactory, they, in 1720, withdrew in favor of Mr. Alexander Monro, who is justly considered as the founder of the Anatomical School of Edinburgh. His first lecture was public. "The Lord Provost, accompanied by his friends in the Magistracy, the President and Fellows of the College of Physicians, and the President, accompanied by the Members of the College of Surgeons, honored him with their presence."2
' Essay on the Character of the late Alexander Russel, M. D., F. R. S. Fothergill's works, quarto ed., p. 430.
2 The History of the University of Edinburgh, &c., by Alexander Bower. Edinburgh, 1817, vol. ii. p. 166. An interesting sketch of the
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"Towards the end of his third course, Mr. Monro, encouraged by the success that had attended his exertions, and with the concurrence and urgent recommendations of his friends, which indeed in this instance were only an echo of the opinion of the public, presented a petition to the honorable patrons, in which he set forth the usefulness of the study of anatomy, and the advantages it might be of to Edinburgh; and in order thereto, the necessity of putting the commission of a professor on such a footing as might encourage him effectively to follow out the design for which he was appointed."
The following extract from the response to this petition evinces the ready acquiescence on the part of the Council : " being fully convinced of the fitness and sufficiency of the said Mr. Alexander Monro, in all respects for the said profes- sion, and well acquainted with his diligence and assiduous application in the exercise of it, they therefore for his better encouragement, of anew, again nominate, &c., him sole Pro- fessor of Anatomy within this city and College of Edinburgh, and that, ad vitam aut culpam, notwithstanding any act of Council formerly made to the contrary."1
The success of Mr. Monro's lectures encouraged the magis- trates to extend their liberal patronage in favor of public medical teaching, and induced them, in 1724, to appoint Dr. Potterfield the Professor of the Institutes of Medicine, and two years afterwards (1726) to elect Dr. Andrew Sinclair and John Rutherford Professors of the Practice of Medicine, and Andrew Plummer and John Jones Professors of Medicine and Chemistry. In subsequent arrangements, to these gentle- men Dr. Alston was added, who, although a teacher of Materia Medica and Botany at the Botanic Garden, was not appointed
"Early History of the Medical Profession in Edinburgh," written by Dr. John Gairdner, has been published in the Edinburgh Medical Journal, vol. ix. Part II.
1 Bower's History, vol. ii. pp. 181, 182.
In the No. of the Dublin Medical Press and Circular for May 9th, 1866, is an interesting lecture, by Prof. Struthers, of Edinburgh, before the Royal College of Surgeons, on the History of the Edinburgh Anatomical School. The details of this lecture, with reference to Mr. Monro, are in accordance with what has been given from the authorities cited. Mr. Monro was in his twenty-third year when he was elected Professor of Anatomy by the Town Council of Edinburgh.
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legally a professor until 1730. As Dr. Potterfield, as far as ascertained, did not lecture, the six other gentlemen who have been named may be regarded as, de facto, founders of the Medical Department of the University of Edinburgh.
The only degree conferred by this University was that of Doctor of Medicine ; with reference to which we are informed that "the Medical Faculty being now constituted, degrees were conferred after a much more regular manner, and, with some slight variations, the forms adopted at Leyden, where the Professors themselves had been educated, were preferred." To exhibit the requirements of the school, the following rule may be cited :-
" The Candidate must have attended the lectures given by the Professors of Anatomy and Surgery, Chemistry, Botany, Materia Medica and Pharmacy, the Theory and Practice of Medicine, and Clinical Medicine in the Hospital."1 The re- quisite examinations followed. It appears to have required nearly twenty years to thus far perfect the course of instruction in the school that must be regarded as the parent of our own.2
It would seem that difficulties in prosecuting anatomical investigation and teaching beset the efforts of the profession in Scotland as well as in this country. The coincidence in this respect is worthy of notice, evincing the prejudices of the populace in connection with matters deeply involving its own welfare and interests, and the mode of eradicating them by judicious management. By the historian of the University of Edinburgh, the account of Mr. Monro's troubles is thus given : " Mr. Monro never desisted from exerting himself in the line of his profession, with that ability, diligence, and steadiness which secured the approbation of all. In some respects, however, he had a difficult part to perform. The population of the town then amounted to only thirty thou- sand, and he had inspired his pupils with such a taste for anatomy and the opportunities they possessed were so lim- ited that they were uneasy under the restraint. In April, 1725, however, some of the more enterprising of the students,
1 Bowers' History, vol. ii. p. 217.
2 The first degree of M. D. was conferred by the University of Edin- burgh in 1705. See Catalogue of Graduates.
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as was supposed, had attempted to violate the graves of the dead. Mr. Monro's well-known character placed him above suspicion in the eyes of sober-minded men, but the vulgar of all denominations were of a different opinion. The city was in an uproar, and an Edinburgh mob was in those days very formidable. They beset Surgeon's Hall, where Mr. Monro had from the first delivered his lectures, and had it not been for the spirited and vigorous measures of the magistrates, they would have destroyed and trampled under their feet the Anatomical preparations which he had accumulated with so much labor and expense. The tumult was fortunately quelled, but the magistrates found it necessary or convenient, in order to pacify the multitude, to offer a reward of £20 sterling to those who would discover the persons that were accessory to stealing dead bodies. The Session of the College rose in the course of a few weeks; no discovery was made, and the cir- cumstance which occasioned the riot was speedily forgotten." The preceding occurrence led to provision within the build- ings of the University for the accommodation of the Medical School, and the greater security of the Museum belonging to it.
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