University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine - Scope Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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,S r. Genrge hmunh he bthtneinitg 5-UB., ,f.'IlI.A., EJELD., QDLZII., ILE., Dim. Itlrnfvmanr nf Qllpltthalmnlngg IEHJZ--1524 By Dr. T. H. l'l0110-zeuy Dr. de Schweinitz returned to the University from the jefferson Medical College in 1902. lfrom that date until the time of his retirement in 10:2-L, it was my pleasure and privilege to serve under him as hospital or personal assistant, although in 1898 I had served as his intern at the l'hiladelphia General Hospital. With these facts in mind my keen appreciation of the privilege of noting these few remarks will he hetter understood. After a college training at Moravian College he graduated from the University in 1881 and later served as intern at the Children's and University Hospitals, From 1882-87 he quizzed on Dr. H. C. Xafoods' lectures on Therapeutics and acted as Proseetor of Anatomy for the illustrious Leidy from 18825 to '88. What an inspira- tion these two men must have been to him at the age of twenty-four. After serving a year C1891-1892j as Lecturer on Medical Ophthalmology, he was appointed 26

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I am here this afternoon at John Marshal1's request and not because I have the wit, the words, or the worth to speak on this occasion. But I am capable of offering a tribute, inadequate though it be, to him as a friend of many years, and as au old pupil. An old pupil in the sense that several decades have passed since I was under his eye as an undergraduate student, but always a devoted pupil in the sense that my acquaintance with him has taught me that conscientious accuracy must be the constant motive in a man's life. Men having such characteristics rarely appreciate that. without effort on their part, they inspire in all who come in contact with them a love of truth for truth's sake, and John Marshall was one of these. In great towns and villages, in laboratories and hospitals, there are today a multitude of men, who knowingly, or unknowingly, do the right thing because of his example. Would that they could have all come together during his lifetime, told him this fact, and thereby rewarded him for his priceless influence. How often the teacher dies without such evidence to brighten his declining years, so that we join the poet i11 saying: Why do we wait till ears are deaf Before we speak a kindly word And only utter thoughts of praise When not a whisper can be heard.? In these days of great commercial activity the man who loves science for its own sake stands out among the throng as does the beacon light above the dreary coast line, not only because of the purity of his motives, but because scientific investigation so pursued, leads other men to travel the same- path, with the result that true knowledge becomes manifest and his fellow-man is the ultimate beneficiary. There are some men whose lives are like narrow, noisome alleys in a great city and others whose lives resemble broad and open highways, always Hooded with God's sunshine and fresh air. Such men lead other men to tread the streets, or road, which I have just described, and so pass into the great open spaces of happiness. John Marshall belonged to this class. In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes: A whiter soul or fairer mind A life with purer thought and aim, A gentler eye, a voice more kind, We shall not hope on earth to find. The love that lingers round his name Is more than fame. Bowed in grief, those who knew John Marshall as comrade, student, teacher and investigator, thank God that for untold years after his death his influence for all that is good, all that is brave, and all that is noble, will continue to be felt, and the motives that animated him during life will be as a benediction upon those who were privileged to call him friend, 25

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Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology 08925 at the Jefferson Medical College, succeeding to the chair in 1896. His numerous scientific contributions have been based upon thorough prepara- tion and exhaustive study, accurate and uncanny observation, concise yet graphic diction, and charming presentation. If we add to these characteristics his past clinical experiences and associations, his high regard for any trust he may hold and an unusual ability in sensing an audience, we can understand his success and ability as a teacher. His book on Diseases of the Eye has run through ten editions. ' Dr, deSchwcinitz has exhausted the ophthalmic honors in this country and is the only ophthalmologist who was ever accorded the honor of the Presidency of the American Medical Association. In 1923 he delivered the Bowman lecture before the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom, the hrst time this honor has been accorded to any one on this side of the Atlantic. In 1924 he was invited to present a paper before the Societe Francaise d'Ophthalmologie, on which occasion there was presented to him a bronze plaquette. He was prompt to volunteer his services during the war and with Colonel Mosher was ordered to France in October, 1917, and later for a short time to England in order to study the methods of handling the ocular and oto-laryngologic cases and to observe the treatment of the blinded soldiers in St. Dunstans. In March, 1918, he returned to this country, where he was made Chief of the Ophth- almologic Section of the Division of llead Surgery in the oflice of the Surgeon General, and had full direction of the ophthalmic service at home. He acted as Consultant to various American hospitals and founded the School of Ophthalmol- ogy at Cwmp Oglethorpe. As a further contribution to the war he has written Section III Ophthalmology in the United States, 141 illustrations and VII colored plates, pp. 555-657 in the Medical Department of the United States Army in the VVor1d War. Vol. XI, Part 2, 1924. No one questions his outstanding position among those e1ninent in ophthal- mology and from each of his many facets there radiates a brilliancy that is as pleasing as it is sparkling and illuminating: healthful, warm and glowing, and in no sense actinic. . VVhile he has severed his connection with the Medical School, he has not been lost to medicine and ophthalmology, for he is actively engaged in practice. Still further, he has not been lost to the University, for in 1924 he was made a Professor of Ophthalmology in the Graduate School of Medicine, and in 1925 he became a Trustee of the University, in which capacity he will serve to good purpose. The Class of 1925 voted last year to present a picture of Dr. de Schweinitz to the Medical School. It .will be painted by Mr. Sciffert and we hope it will be finished in time to present formally before we graduate. ED, 27