Rush Medical College - Pulse Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 22 text:

JBeni. 1R11 b El Jmograpbxg 'QA' Suomi lmlo szfrrozllzds this name, as fmperislmble as the pages of lz1'sf01Q1'. I fr. X ,EG-A e, . N the day before f,ll1'1StlHIlS,OUE hundred and fifty years ago, in the hamlet of Byberry, near Philadelphia, there came into F, this World a baby boy whose entrance was not heralded by Wa. .r , Ad pr! ll new 9 f t I ,W rs salvos of cannon nor thanksgivings in churches, but whose fl Icmibg exit sixty-eight years later caused more widespread grief than that of any other person, excepting possibly the Father of his Country. Benjamin Rush, as might readily be supposed from his own life, was de- scended from ancestors whose individuality and independence of thought and action demanded attention from those amongst whom they lived. His grandfather, a gunsmith by trade, was a captain of cavalry in Qliver Cromwell's army, and served with distinction, but later, being displeased with the restoration of the monarchy, which he had helped to overthrow, and liv- ing become allied with the society of Friends, on the emigration of their great leader, NVilliam Penn, he followed, or rather went with him, and settled near Philadelphia, where later the subject of our sketch was born. Very early in life, Rush must have given evidence of his desire for know- ledge, and was fortunate in possessing a mother of discernment and force of character, for when he was six yea1's old, his father, a highly respected farmer, died, and the farm on which they lived not being sufficiently remunerative. it was sold and the mother moved into Pliilaclelpllia, where her sole aim was the IO

Page 21 text:

Ebitors of the llbulse my of SAMUEL OKIAR DL'NC.-KN, A. B. ED1'1'oR-IN-CHIEF. VVILLI.-UI DUNCAN BIACNARY. A. B. EZRA READ LARNED, ASSISTANT EDITOR AND TREASURER. sEcRE'rARx' Axn 1aL's1xEs5 x1.xNAnER CHARLES Lows HOBISS, FRANK XYR1:,:H'1' BULLEN, ART1sT. Em'1'uR mf Luc3A1.s, ETC. GEORGE THUMAS CARSON, CHAIRMAN. 9

Page 23 text:

care and education of her son. For three years she taught him herself, but his abilities demanding more than his mother could give, young Benjamin at nine years of age was sent to his uncle in Maryland, and for five years his education was superintended with great care, and he showed far more than an ordinary bright intellect. At the age of fourteen, Rush entered upon a two years' course of study in Princeton College, where he graduated with the degree of B. A. He then commenced the study of medicine, having as a pre- ceptor Dr. Redman, of Philadelphia, and here Rush studied so hard and con- stantly that he is said to have taken only fwo tiqvs' vacation during the six years he was studying the works of I-lippocrates, Sydenham and Boerhaave. At this time Dr. Shippen began the first course of lectures on medicine ever delivered in the colonies, and young Rush attended these lectures in addition to his other work. At length, having completed his apprenticeship, and in fact having acquired all his teachers were able to impart, and thirsting for more knowl- edge, like the true student he was, Rush went to Scotland and entered the Medical College of Edinburgh, which was then the most celebrated school in all Europe, having among its professors such famous men as Cullen, Black, Gregory and Munro, all of whom were Rush's teachers. In two years he obtained his degree of M. D., his thesis, De coctione ciborum, written in the most elegant Latin, arousing widespread and very favorable comment. Still not satisfied, the young doctor studied in the hospitals of London and Paris something over a year before he turned homeward. Back in Philadelphia, he found his fame as a student had been before him, and honors came thick and fast. His former teacher, Dr. Shippen, with Drs. Bond, Kuhn and Morgan, were just starting a medical college, and Dr. Rush, at 26 years of age, was at once elected Professor of Chemistry. In 1789 he was elected Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine, and in 1791 Professor of Institutes of Medicine and of Clinical Practice. In ISO6 these chairs were combined, and Dr. Rush ably discharged the increased duties until his death. Almost as soon as Rush landed on his return from Europe, he took prom- inent part in politics, and became a warm friend of Benj. Franklin. In 1774, with james Pemberton, Dr. Rush started the first Anti-Slavery II