Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush, a native of Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was born on December 24, 1745. His ancestors came to this country under the auspices of William Penn in 1683. His father was a respectable farmer and died when his son was a child.After pursuing his studies in the excellent industry for six years under Dr. Redman, he entered the Medical University at Edinburgh, Scotland, where he reaped the full benefit of the celebrated Munro, Cullen, Black, and Gregory lectures. In 1768, he received the degree of M.D. On receiving his diploma, he went to London. He practiced medicine in the hospitals of that city, where he remained for nearly a year and became eminent as a bold and successful operator, a skillful and judicious physician. He then visited the hospitals of Paris and returned to Philadelphia in the spring of 1769, where he met the warm embrace of his connections and friends and commenced his helpful career in that city. In 1776, he was elected a member of Congress.
The year following, he was appointed Surgeon General of the Military Hospital for the Middle Department. The remainder of his life was devoted to his profession, the improvement of medical science, and the amelioration of the ills of afflicted humanity. In 1789, he was elected Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic. 1791, he was appointed Professor of the Institutes of Medicine and Clinical Practice. In 1806, he was honored with the United Professorships of the Theory and Practice of Physic and Clinical Medicine, the duties he ably discharged until his death.