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

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MIRgQ Thus it is that Baltimore, this fine, conservative old City of Monuments, that needs no monument to herself save the love and loyalty enshrined in the hearts of those who have partaken of her hospitality and enjoyed her blessings ; the home of the Star-Spangled Banner, ' ' and the couch from which so many boons to humanity have seen the light of day. gave to the world this profession that has fought its way through adversity until it stands today, acclaimed by those compe- tent to judge, the most important specialty of the healing art. At the time of the founding of the College, Dr. Hay.den was seventy years of age and had practiced dentistry for forty years, having been inspired to its study by one Dr. John Greenwood of New York, who had rendered him profes- sional service. In his account of Dr. Hayden ' s entrance upon the study of den- tistry following this professional meeting of dentist and patient, Professor William Simon says : He at once procured such books and essays as were available for his purpose, and with the energy that was so characteristic of him commenced the study of dentistry. ' ' Contemplation of the disadvantages under which the fathers of the profes- sion labored and the obstacles they were forced to overcome leads to the observa- tion that the ease with which knowledge may be obtained is not always the measure in which it is actually assimilated and made to serve humanity, but is frequently in mverse ratio. For every Lincoln there are a thousand nonentities and idlers who cast opportunity to the winds. Idleness and its twin. Ignorance, are the curse and the crime of humanity, and Ease and Luxury are all too often participes criminis in their work of degradation. Adversities have their uses, and the conquering of them develops a moral and mental stamina that are incorporated into its fibre and become a very part of character. Following the difficulties of obtaining sufficient theoretical knowledge as a groundwork for his profession, Dr. Hayden was confronted with the prejudice of those who should have been wise enough to lend a helping hand. He spoke of the days when the name of dentist was a reproach and a byword, but he earned the just reward of seeing the day when men of learning, worth and genius had been added to its ranks. Dr. Chapin A. Harris, the other co-founder, whose name is inseparably linked with that of Dr. Hayden, was less than half his age, aggressive, ambitious, full of energy, and evidently of large mental attainments before his apprenticeship to Dr. Hayden, having the degree of A.M. and M.D. TiventX}-

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t STmirpo The Great Master set His seal upon the humblest service when He washed His disciples ' feet, and laid down the law of mastery and service when He said. He rhat is greatest among you shall be your servant, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. The pioneers of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, and thus of the dental profession, were sturdy men, as might have been expected of the progeni- tors of so noble a calling ; and as one contemplates the present status of dentistry and looks back through the long years to its nativity one is forced to the conclu- sion that the event of its being and the men concerned in it were not accidents, but, like the other great leaders of history, were divinely called to the task and raised up and trained for its achievement. So it was that in 1839 Dr. Horace H. Hayden and Dr. Chapin A. Harris, pre- ceptor and student, respectively, having been repulsed in their efforts to obtain recognition for dentistry as a special branch of medicine and to have it established as a department in a medical school, worked out their plans for an independent school. These plans were consummated in the granting of a Charter and Articles of Incorporation, the first three sections of which should be matters of keen interest and of sufficient pride to devotees of the profession in every age to justify recording them here : AN ACT INCORPORATING THE BALTIMORE COLLEGE OF DENTAL SURGERY Passed February 1, 1840 Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland. That a College of Dentistry be. and the same is hereby, established in the City of Baltimore, to be known and designated by the name and style of THE BALTIMORE COLLEGE OF DENTAL SURGERY. Sec. 2. And be it enacted, That the following persons be, and they are hereby, appointed and constituted the Professors of said College, to wit : Horace H. Hayden, M.D., to be Professor of Dental Pathology and Physiology: Chapin A. Harris. M.D., to be Professor of Practical Den- tistry; Thomas E. Bond. Jr.. M.D.. to be Professor of Special Dental Pathology and Therapeutics, and H. Willis Baxley. M.D.. to be Professor of Special Dental Anatomy and Physiology. Sec. 3. And be it enacted. That the said Professors and their suc- cessors shall be. and they are hereby, declared to be a Corporation and body politic, to be perpetuated under the name of The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Twenlv

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lgj [ MIR gcfe These two men seem to have formed a well-nigh perfect combination for the great task to which they set themselves. Dr. Harris found his inspiration in Dr. Hayden, student, teacher, sage and seer, while Dr. Hayden. already in the mellow years of life, found in Dr. Harris a veritable mental and physical dynamo of energy. This co-ordination of their qualities and attainments — the ripe judgment of age and the zeal and fire of young manhood — could not be thwarted by the judg- ment and the verdict of the faculty of the University of Maryland that the sub- ject of dentistry was of little consequence and thus justified their unfavorable action in refusing to add dental instruction to the medical course. These were the humble beginnings — a dream and a vision, hopes, ambitions, rebuffs, disappointments, faith, perseverance, the glory of achievement, and finally recognition that comes all too often at the end, and, like the epitaph, seeks in some measure to compensate for an earlier lack of sympathetic appreciation. Two days after the granting of the Articles of Incorporation, Dr. Hayden became the first President of the Faculty and Dr. Harris the first Dean of the College. The degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery had previously been decided upon and provisions for conferring it became a part of the Charter. How judi- cious the selection of the title was is attested by the fact that nearly every dental college established since that time has followed the lead of these wise men and conferred the same degree. The Faculty set out at once upon a campaign of publicity and secured five students for the first course, 1840-41. viz.: T- Washington Clewes of New York City, Thomas Payne of New York City, Robert Arthur of Baltimore, Joseph Lavier of Norfolk, Yirginia. and R. Covington Mackall of Baltimore. The first lecture was delivered by Dr. Chapin A. Harris on November 3, 1840. It is too long to record here, but it is interesting in giving expression to the high ideals which animated the founders to teach dentistry — not as a mechanical trade, to which level it has sunk in the hands of many men in every period since its begin- ning — but as a branch of the healing art worthy to rank with every other branch of that art. Dr. Harris in this first lecture complained of the low plane upon which many early practitioners conducted the profession and warned against it, expressing the hope that the day is not remote when it will be required of those to whom this Ti»enly-lv o