Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/1102

NAME SMITH 1080 SMYTH fession of his native city. He was born at Washington, August 16, 1842, and died there July 23, 1913, at the age of seventy. Edu- cated in the public schools and at Gonzaga College, he graduated at Georgetown Univer- sity School of Medicine in 1864, and prac- tised in Washington from the time he joined the Medical Society, July 4, 1864, until his death, a period of forty-nine years. As a practitioner he accomphshed his chief work as an obstetrician, though he did general prac- tice. His writings were of a practical char- acter, the most notable one being an essay on "Antepartum Hour-glass Contraction of the Uterus," which appeared in the Amer- ican Journal of Obstetrics in 1882, at that time one of the best presentations of the subject. Others of his papers were "Intra- uterine Amputation of the Forearm"; "Preg- nancy with Pinhole Hymen"; "Complete In- version of the Uterus"; "Hydrorrhoea" ; "Hypertrophic Elongation of the Cervix Obstructing Labor"; "Tetanus Following Abortion." In the discussions of papers before medical societies Dr. Smith, while a ready debater, always showed the kindest feel- ing and goodwill. In 1878 Dr. Smith became secretary of the Medical Society of the District of Colum- bia, president ten years later and then cor- responding secretary until his death. Being chairman of the committee on essays for a long series of years he was instrumental in procuring papers from eminent members of the profession who lived outside of the Dis- trict of Columbia. In 1894, at the 75th anni- versary of the founding of the society, he read a paper entitled "History of the Medical Colleges of the District of Columbia." When it is understood that this medical society held weekly meetings for eight months in the year and that Dr. Smith was seldom absent, the measure of his devotion may be estimated. Dr. Smith was a good citizen and a good Christian, being connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he had pronounced views as to total abstinence from alcohlic stimulants. Upon one occasion, at a meeting of the Fortnightly Club, of which he was a member, he espied a glass bowl filled with brandied cherries, a beautiful color effect. Several members of the club walked up to the table and taking cherries from the bowl ate them. Dr. Smith in turn picked up a cherry but as soon as he tasted the brandy tossed it into the cuspidor with a wry face. Ever after the club knew brandied cherries as the "Thomas Smith Cocktail." He was president of the Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of the District of Columbia and a member of the American Medical Association. For some years he was consulting physician to the Emergency Hospi- tal and consulting physician to the Freedmen's Hospital, and president of the board of trus- tees of the Methodist Home for the Aged, to which he devoted much time and money. He was married and had a son and a daughter. Wash. Med. Annals, 1913, vol. xii. 317-331. Trib- utes by D. S. Lamb, G. M. Kober, A. F. A. King, S. S. Adams and others. Portrait. Smyth, Andrew Woods (1833-1916) Andrew Woods Smyth was born near Lon- donderry, Ireland, February 15, 1833. His father was John Smyth ; his mother, Ann Woods, both of Scotch descent. He came to New Orleans in 1849 and there was gradu- ated in 1858 from the Medical Department of the University of Louisiana. That same year he received the appointment of house surgeon to the Charity Hospital, a post which he retained with distinction under twelve suc- cessive governors of the state, covering a term of twenty years which included perhaps the most turbulent period in the history of Louisiana. A Presbyterian in religious con- viction and a Republican in • politics. Dr. Smyth's broadminded sincerity won for him the confidence of all parties and creeds and gave him an unquestioned place of honor in the community. On May 15, 1864, the first successful oper- ation of ligating the arteria innominata in a case of subclavian aneurysm was performed by Dr. Smyth. This had been first attempted by Dr. Valentine Mott (q. v.) in 1818, who, with unshaken faith in its ultimate success, expressed great satisfaction in Dr. Smyth's achievement. In 1866 the first successful re- duction of a dislocation of the femur of over nine months' duration was made by Dr. Smyth, and in 1879 he performed the then unusual operation of extirpating a kidney; in 1885 he attracted attention by a nephrorrhaphy — attaching a floating kidney to the wound to retain the organ in place. Four of his eight published papers are to be found in the files of the New Orleans Medical and Sur- gical Journal, 1869-1879. From 1862 to 1877 he acted as a member of the Louisiana Board of Health, and from 1881-85 was superintendent of the New Orleans mint. On May 21, 1881, Dr. Smyth wedded Miss Nathalie Bouligny, a young woman of excep-