University of Maryland School of Medicine - Terrae Mariae Medicus (Baltimore, MD)

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I The chandelier in Anatomical Hall has dispelled the darkness for generations of medical students. iBSt THE PAST

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We Honor Our Past . . .

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IN 1796 Baltimore had just become an incorporated city. With 25,000 people this small tidewater metropolis was already assuming a prominent place in the develop- ment of the new nation. Seated at a strate- gic convergence of the principal roads of the province, its fine harbor was alive with ships from many ports. Growth was every- where as new streets pushed into the rolling open country to the west and into the forest toward the north. Born as a city of trade, Baltimore was booming into the Gateway of the West. As hogsheads of tobacco rolled across the wharves, tanned sailors brushed shoulders with bustling merchants and pros- perous farmers. DAY IDGE This was the Baltimore that greeted Dr. John Beale Davidge as he stepped ashore on his return from England. Born in An- John B. Davidge, M.D. napolis, he had been educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow and now at the age of 28 in- tended to start private practice in Baltimore. It was still a half century before Pasteur and Lister but Baltimore had already estab- lished a medical precedent. A new vaccine for smallpox had been received in Ba ltimore by Mr. William Taylor from his brother in London. The fame of Jenner had spread to the New World and Dr. James Smith was able to convince the Maryland Legislature that the state should utilize the serum. This was done, marking the first occasion on which serum was distributed free by state authorities. Despite this advance, the status of the medical profession at this time was weak. Quackery was rampant and require- ments to practice medicine were few. To protect themselves, the local physicians as early as 1785 had organized to provide a plan for a state medical organization, but its success had been short-lived. Four years later, however, a Medical Society of Balti- more became a realization. Lectures in anatomy, surgery and obstetrics were of- fered to the members in the winter of 1789 to 1790. Because of the success of these lec- tures, a Medical School was organized with a faculty composed of prominent local medical men. However, after a few months interest died and the lectures stopped. Despite this failure, the idea of medical education persisted and in 1797 another course of lectures was offered. Once again lack of interest ended them. In 1799, a charter for the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland was adopted by the State General Assembly. Dr. Davidge was one of the leading organizers together with Dr. Nathaniel Potter. In 1802, Dr. Davidge began a private course of lectures on anat- omy, surgery, midwifery, and physiology which were given ammally for several years and appear to have been well attended. At 10