Page:A cyclopedia of American medical biography vol. 2.djvu/385

 RUSH

841

RUSH

challenge and pul)lished the whole cor- respondence in the newspapers. One result of the controversy over the yellow fever of 1797 was the founding of the "Academy of Medicine of Philadelphia" by the adherents of Dr. Rush. The latter resigned from the College of Phy- sicians, but always protested that he bore no ill-will towards that body. Dr. Phy- sick was the first president of the new society.

In 1783 Dr. Rush was elected physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital, a capacity in which he served until his death. During that time he never missed a daily visit and was never more than ten minutes late. Morton's " History of the Pennsylvania Hospital" contains a most interesting account of his many services to that institution, particularly the reforms and advanced methods advo- cated by him in the treatment of the insane.

Dr. Rush served in a number of impor- tant political and military capacities. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of 1776, and as such signed the Declara- tion of Independence. On April 11, 1777, he was appointed by Congress, surgeon-general of the middle department of the Continental Army. Of his mili- tary services but little information is as- certainable. He became involved in the Conway cabal, being an ardent partisan of Gates and Samuel Adams in their criticism of what they termed the Fabian policy of Washington. With the down- fall of the cabal Rush realized that his prospects for advancement in the Army were shattered, and wisely retired to the field of professional activity in which he had occupied so prominent a position. One invalua1>le result of his military experience remains in his pamphlet entitled "Direction for Preserving the Health of Soldiers," which was published by order of the Board of War. It is an excellent exposition of the rules of mili- tary hygiene and camp sanitation. He refused to draw any salary for his military services. In 1799 he was appointed Treasurer of the Ignited States Mint, a

l)osition which he held until his death, when his son was appointed to succeed him.

Among his many activities may l)e mentioned his membership in the Ameri- can Philosophical Society, before which he read a number of communications and of which he was at one time vice-presi- dent. He was chief among the founders of the Philadelphia Dispensary in 1786, the first dispensary established in this country. He assisted in founding the institution now known as Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, and also in the founding of Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pennsyl- vania.

Three subjects which were j)articularly near to his heart were the freeing of the negroes, the abolition of the death penalty, and the restriction of the immoderate use of alcohol and tobacco. On all these subjects he wrote many disquisitions and delivered frecpient addresses.

He was verj' active in founding the Bible Society, and also in many other projects for the furtherance of rehgion. St. Thomas' Church, a large negro place of worship, was founded through his activity.

When he was a j'oung man he wrote in stilted phrase to Dr. Ramsey: "Medi- cine is my Avife; science is my mistress; books are my companions; my study is my grave; there I lie buried, the world forgetting, by the world forgot." In the latter part of his life he had jnit away this preternatural gravity and after having married a wife and begot thirteen chil- dren by her he writes in treating of the causes of insanity " celibacy is a pleasant breakfast, a tolerable dinner, but a very bad supper. The supper is not only bad, I)ut, eaten alone, no wonder it sometimes l)ecomes a predisposing cause to mad- ness." His wife, whom he married in 177(3, was Miss Julia Stockton, of a New Jersey family.

In addition to his printed works, which were published in seven volumes, Rush edited editions of some of the most