University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

Page 18 text:

z£ m i+! l .... History of Baltimore College of Dent J Surgery. IT will probably be news to most persons to know- that Baltimore has the distinction of having; in- stituted the first dental college in the world, and of having originated the degree of D.D.S., Doctor of Dental Surgery, now used by most of the dental col- leges of United States and Canada and in some parts of Europe. Yes, such is the case. For many years the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery was the only in- stitution of its kind in existence. It was chartered in 1839 by the Act of the Legisla- ture of the State of Maryland, the following gentlemen constituting the Faculty: H. H, Harden. M.D., Pro- fessor of Physiology and Pathology ; R, W. Baxley, M.D., Professor of Anatomy; C. A. Harris, M.D., Pro- fessor of Theory and Practice of Dentistry ; and Thomas E. Bond, M.D., Professor of Therapeutics. Perhaps at this place it would not be amiss to insert a short sketch of the lives of two of the gentlemen whose names are mentioned above, and who were really the founders of our College. For the following sketches we are indebted to Charles McManus, D.D.S., of Hartford. Conn.

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Editorial Staff. Edilor-in-Ch ief, (i) Horace R. Bristol. Assistant Editor, (2) J. E. Robillard. Art Editor, (4) L. A. d ' Argy. Grind Editor, (6) G. Frank German. Assistant Business Manager, (8) Benjamin H. Keeler. Literary Editor, (3) J. Fred Worrell. Business Manager, (5) Harry W. Dellinger. Subscription Editor, (7) Carl P. Norris. Athletic Editor, (g) Louis E. Guy. Advisory Board. William F. Smith, A.B., M.D. Horace R. Bristol, J. E. Robillard, Bert Frank Allen, Howard A. Bishop.

Page 19 text:

CHAPIN A. HARRIS was born in 1806, in Pompey, New York. He com- menced his medical studies early in life and began practice in Ohio. His attention was called to Den- tistry by his brother. John Harris. Until after 1827, however, he gave but little attention to dental practice except to extract and clean teeth and insert a few fill- ings ; when, after studying Hunter, Fox, and Dela- barre, he entered upon the exclusive practice of dental surgery. From 1827 to 1833 he traveled South and West, elevating the profession of dentistry and estab- lishing his reputation. I n x 833 he opened an office in Baltimore and wrote largely on dental subjects. In 1839 he published his first edition of his Prin- ciples and Practice of Dental Surgery. With the end in view of preserving the experience of the profession, he visited New York and with some of the leading dentists of that city established a periodical devoted especially to the interests of the profession. Drs. Harris and Eleazer Parmly were joint editors of this periodical and, in accordance with the arrange- ment, the first volume was issued from New York, June, 1839, under the title of The American Journal of Dental Science. During the first year of its publica- tion it was issued with some irregularity at the price of $3 per annum. It was printed in Baltimore. Hi s next task was the creating of faculties for educating men for the duties of the dental profession ; accord- ingly in the winter of 1S39-40, he obtained signatures to a petition to be laid before the Legislature of Mary- land for the incorporation of a College of Dental Sur- gery, at Baltimore. After much opposition the charter was granted and Dr. Harris continued through life to exercise the duties of one of its most important pro- fessorships. In 1840 Dr. H. H. Hayden went to New York and Boston with the design of forming a Dental Society. Dr. Harris, among others, immediately re- sponded to the call and the speedy result was the or- ganization of the American Society of Dental Sur- geons. In 1840 he published a Monograph of the Physical Characteristics of the Teeth ; in 1841 a Dissertation on the Diseases of the Maxillary Sinus. He also revised his Principles and Practice through several editions, and completed his ' ' Dictionary of Dental Science, Biography, Bibliography and Medical Derminology. He also translated from the French the works of Delabarre.