HISTORY:' 
 
 OF THE 
 
 lOLLEGE 
 
 OF Pm'SICIANS AND SURGEONS 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 Open Knowledge Commons 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/historyofcollege02dalt 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 
 IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK; 
 
 flDebical Department ot Columbia College. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN C. DALTON, M.D., 
 
 PRESIDENT, AND PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 Published by order of the College 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1888 
 

 TRUSTEES //3^ 
 
 OF THE d / ^ 
 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 1888. 
 
 HON. FREDERICK A. CONKLING 
 
 JOHN J. CRANE, M.D. 
 
 ELLSWORTH ELIOT, M.D, 
 
 ROBERT G. REMSEN, ESQ. 
 
 REV. F. A. P. BARNARD, LL.D. 
 
 SAMUEL T. HUBBARD, M.D. 
 
 THOMAS F. COCK, M.D. 
 
 WILLIAM W. HOPPIN, JR., ESQ. 
 
 GEORGE A. PETERS, M.D. 
 
 HON. GILBERT M. SPEIR 
 
 HON. EDWARD MITCHELL ' 
 
 WILLARD PARKER, M.D. 
 
 WILLIAM H. DRAPER, M.D. 
 
 JOHN C. DALTON, M.D., President 
 
 JAMES T. SWIFT, ESQ. 
 
 THOMAS M. MARKOE, M.D., Vice-President 
 
 CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, ESQ. 
 
 GEORGE G. WHEELOCK, M.D., Registrar 
 
 JAMES A. ROOSEVELT, ESQ. 
 
 GEORGE BLISS, ESQ., Treasurer 
 
 JOSEPH H. CHOATE, ESQ. 
 
 MORRIS K. JESUP, ESQ. 
 
 RT. REV. HENRY C. POTTER, S.T.D., Chaplain 
 
 A. BRAYTON BALL, M.D. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 , CHAPTER I. 
 
 Foundation and Early Years of the College, 
 1807 — 1811. 
 Introduction — Origin of the College — ^Charter of 1807 — 
 Amendment of 1808 — The faculty in 1807 — Opening of the first 
 session — The college building in Robinson street — New York 
 City in 1807 — The faculty in 1808 — Methods of instruction — 
 Removal to Magazine street — Dr. Romayne — Dr. Mitchill — Dr. 
 Miller — Dr. Bruce — Dr. DeWitt — Dr. Macneven — First grad- 
 uating exercises of the College . ' Pages 7 — 28. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The College in Barclay Street. 
 1811— 1826. 
 Charter of 181 1 — Charter of 1812 — Accession of professors 
 from Columbia College — The faculty in 1814 — Removal to 
 Barclay street — The college building in Barclay street — Its en- 
 largement — The Elgin Botanic Garden — Dr. Bard — Dr. Ho- 
 sack — Dr. Mott — Dr. Francis — Dr. Post — Disputes with the 
 County Medical Society — Change in the Board of Trustees — 
 Disputes between the professors and the trustees — Investiga- 
 tion by the Regents — Further change in the Board of Trustees 
 — Resignation of the faculty — Appointment of new professors 
 by the Regents Pages 29 — 54. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Reorganization of the College. 
 1826 — 1837. 
 
 The faculty in 1826 — Dr. John Watts — Dr. John Augustine 
 Smith — Dr. Dana — Dr. Stevens — Dr. Delafield— Dr. Joseph M. 
 Smith — Dr. Beck — Financial embarrassments of the College — 
 Perseverance against difficulties — Members of the Board of 
 Trustees — Dr. John Kearny Rodgers — Dr. Jaques — Dr. Flam- 
 ersley — Dr. Johnston — Dr. Borrowe — Dr. Cheesman — Mr. 
 Hamilton— Mr. King— Mr. Bruen— Mr. Campbell— Mr. Allen 
 — Mr. Troup — Mr. Boyd — Death of Dr. Dana — Appointment 
 of Dr.,Torrey — Reappointment of Dr. Mott — Removal to Cros- 
 by street Pages 55 — 67 
 
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The College in Crosby Street. 
 1837— 1856. 
 Resignation of Dr. Stevens — Appointment of Dr. Parker 
 — Dr. Watts — Dr. Gilman — Dr. John Augustine Smith — The 
 faculty in 1843 — Improvements in the College — Spring and 
 Fall lectures — Lengthening of the college term — Establishment 
 of college clinics — Bellevue Hospital — Legalization of prac- 
 tical anatomy — The Pathological Society — The Academy of 
 Medicine Pages d'^ — 85. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Changes in the Faculty, 
 1851— 1858. 
 Dr. Beck — Dr. Bartlett — Chair of Physiology and Pathol- 
 ogy — Dr. Clark — Chair of Materia Medica and Clinical Med- 
 icine — Of Pathology and Practical Medicine — Of Physiology 
 and Microscopic Anatomy — Dr. Dalton — Dr. St. John — Dr. 
 Stevens — His resignation as president — Appointment of Dr. 
 Cock— Of Dr. Delafield Pages 86—97. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Removal to Twenty-third Street. 
 1856— 1860. 
 
 Project of removal from Crosby street — Purchase of land 
 in Twenty-third street — Erection of the new building — Its in- 
 auguration — The faculty in 1858 — -Release of the College 
 from the authority of the Regents — Union with Columbia 
 College Pages 98 — 107. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The College in Twenty-third Street. 
 1856— 1887. 
 Establishment of the Alumni Association — The Alumni 
 prize — The Cartwright prize — The Cartwright lectures — Lab- 
 oratory of the Alumni Association — The endowment fund — 
 The laboratory fund — Prizes for undergraduates — Harsen 
 prizes for clinical reports — Injurious effect of special prizes 
 for undergraduates — Their abolition — Prizes for general profic- 
 iency in examination — Growth of the college clinics — Of the 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 
 
 Physiological find Pathological Laboratory — Changes in meth- 
 ods of examination — Lengtheningof the term . Pages io8 — 135. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Changes in the Faculty. 
 1865—1887. 
 
 Dr. Chandler R. Gilman — Dr. Thomas — Dr. McLane — Dr. 
 Tuttle — Dr. Joseph M. Smith as professor of materia medica — 
 Succeeded by Dr. McLane — Dr. Edward Curtis — Dr. Peabody 
 — Dr. Watts professor of anatomy — Dr. Sands — Dr. Sabine — 
 Dr. Parker professor of surgery — His resignation — Dr. Markoe 
 — Dr. Sands — Dr. Hall — Dr. Bull — Dr. St. John professor of 
 chemistry — Succeeded by Dr. Chandler — Dr. Francis Delafield 
 professor of pathology and practical medicine — Dr. John G. 
 Curtis professor of physiology — Dr. Edward Delafield, eighth 
 president of the College — Dr. Clark, ninth president — The 
 faculty in 1887 Pages 136 — 152. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Gifts and Bequests to the College. 
 1875— 1886. 
 
 Dr. McClelland — His bequests to the Alumni Association 
 and to the College — Mr. James T. Swift — His gift for a physi- 
 ological cabinet — Mr. William H. Vanderbilt — His gift of land 
 and building fund — His reasons for the benefaction — His life 
 and character — Mr. and Mrs. William D. Sloane — The Sloane 
 Maternity Hospital — The Vanderbilt Clinic — Increased capac- 
 ity of the College from these endowments . . Pages 153 — 164. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The College in Fifty-ninth Street. 
 1887— 1888. 
 Plans for the new building^ — Its erection and inauguration 
 — Description of the college building — The Sloane Maternity 
 Hospital — Its construction and organization — The Vanderbilt 
 Clinic — Its departments — Clinical staff — The Roosevelt Hos- 
 pital — Endowment and organization — Hospital Staff — New 
 measures adopted by the College — Entrance examinations — 
 Lengthening of the term — Changes in the curriculum — Estab- 
 lishm-ent of a three years' college course . . . Pages 165 — 197. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 The materials for this work have been drawn from the rec- 
 ords of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and also from 
 
 the following : 
 
 Minutes of the Regents of the University of the State of New 
 York, from 1791 to 1850, inclusive. 
 
 Minutes of the Medical Society of the county of New York, for 
 1807, 1809, 1819, 1820, and 1825. 
 
 RoMAYNE. — Report and address delivered by the President to 
 the Medical Society of the county of New York. Published 
 by the Society. .New York, 1807. 
 
 MiTCHiLL.— Picture of New York, or the Traveller's Guide 
 through the commercial metropolis of the United States. 
 By a gentleman residing in this city. New York, 1807. 
 
 HosACK. — Statement of facts relative to the Elgin Botanic Gar- 
 den, New York, 181 1. 
 
 Exposition of the transactions relative to the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons in the city of New York. New York, 
 1812. 
 
 HosACK. — Observations on the establishment of the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in the city of New York and the 
 late proceedings of the Regents of the University relative 
 to that institution. New York, 181 1. 
 
 HosACK. — Historical sketch of the origin, progress and present 
 state of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Uni- 
 versity of the State of New York. (With a view of the Col- 
 ~ lege). New York, 1813 ; 
 also in the American Medical and Philosophical Register. 
 New York, 18 14. 
 
 Account oi the life and character of Edward Miller, M.D., Ameri- 
 can Medical and Philosophical Register. 1812. 
 
 Memoir of Archibald Bruce, M.D., in the American Journal of 
 Science. New York, 181 8. 
 
 Obituary notice of Nicholas Romayne, M.D., in the Medical Re- 
 pository. New York, 18 18. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 5 
 
 Stearns. — Annual address before the Medical Society of the 
 State of New York. Albany, 1818. 
 
 Obituary notice of Benjamin De Witt, M.D., in the Medical Re- 
 pository. New York, 1819. 
 
 MiTCHiLL. — Discourse on the life and cliaracter of Samuel Bard, 
 M.D. ; New York, 1821. 
 
 MacVickar. — Life of Samuel Bard, M.D. ; New York, 1822. 
 
 HosACK. — Inaugural Discourse at the opening of Rutgers Medi- 
 cal College. New York, 1826. 
 
 Beck. — Obituary notice of James Freeman Dana, M.D. ; in the 
 New York Medical and Physical Journal. New York, 1827. 
 
 Thacher. — American Medical Biography ; Boston, 1828. 
 
 Smith, J. A. — Eulogium on the late Wright Post, M.D. ; in the 
 New York Medical and Physical Journal, 1828. 
 
 Obituary notice of Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D. ; in the New York 
 Medical Journal, 183 1. 
 
 Francis. — Reminiscences of Samuel Latham Mitchill, M.D., 
 New York, 1859. 
 
 Moore. — Memoir of John Watts, M.D., New York, 183 1. 
 
 Williams. — American Medical Biography. Greenfield, 1845. 
 
 MoTT. — Reminiscences of medical teachers and teaching in New 
 York. New York, 1850. 
 
 GiLMAN. — Sketch of the life and character of John Brodhead 
 Beck, M.D. ; in the New York Journal of Medicine, 185 1. 
 
 Francis. — Old New York, or Reminiscences of the past sixty 
 years. New York, 1858. 
 
 MoTT. — Eulogy on the late John W. Francis, M.D. New York, 
 1861. 
 
 Gross. — Lives of eminent American Physicians and Surgeons. 
 Philadelphia, 1861. 
 
 Blatchford. — Our Alma Mater fifty years ago. Oration deliv- 
 ered before the Alumni Association, March 14th, 1861. 
 
 Adams. — Memoir of Jacob Harsen, M.D., read before the New 
 York Academy of Medicine, June ist, 1864. 
 
 Post. — Eulogy on the late Valentine Mott, M.D. ; delivered be- 
 fore the N. Y. Academy of Medicine, November 27th, 1865. 
 
 Adams. — Discourse commemorative of the life and character of 
 Alexander H. Stevens, M.D. ; New York, 1871. 
 
 Obituary notice of John McClelland, M.D. ; in the New York 
 Medical Register for 1875-6. 
 
 Lamb. — History of the city of New York. New York, 1S80. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 FOUNDATION AND EARLY YEARS OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 1807-181I. 
 
 The College of Physicians and Surgeons has 
 reached a point in its history when it seems desir- 
 able to collect, in a permanent and accessible form, 
 the records of its growth. Now in the eighty-second 
 year of its existence, it occupies a position of strength 
 and security, guaranteed by continuous progress in 
 the past and the promise of greater prosperity in the 
 future. It is the oldest existing medical school in the 
 State of New York, and one of the four in the United 
 States which have lasted for more than three quarters 
 of a century. It bears upon its rolls the names of 
 over four thousand five hundred graduates ; and its 
 alumni have always shown a deep solicitude for its 
 welfare. There are none now living whose personal 
 recollections connect them in any degree with the 
 early years of the institution ; and for those of the 
 present generation its annals have all the attraction 
 of historic interest. In some respects, moreover, they 
 may yield instruction as well as entertainment. The 
 present condition of the College is by no means 
 
8 EARLY YEARS 
 
 wholly due to events or influences of our own day. 
 Its destiny has been shaped by many different causes 
 following each other in long succession, the more re- 
 cent always connected in some measure with those 
 which have gone before. Every improvement in its 
 organization or operation has been accomplished by 
 repeated and persevering endeavor, by gradual en- 
 largement rather than by sudden or forcible expan- 
 sion. It has had its trials and vicissitudes, its failures 
 as well as its successes ; and we may surely learn 
 something from experience, to avoid the repetition of 
 past mistakes. A difficulty once removed, by means 
 which have proved effectual, need not again be en- 
 countered if the institution adhere to its policy of a 
 discriminating and judicious conservatism. On the 
 other hand, it has ever been ready to alter its cus- 
 toms and regulations when they have become useless 
 or inappropriate and no longer fulfil the purpose for 
 which they were designed. Its methods have varied 
 to meet the necessity of the times ; its aims and ob- 
 jects have always been the same. 
 
 The College took its origin, in the first decade of 
 the century, from a spontaneous movement of_the 
 profession in the city of New York for the cultiva- 
 tion and improvement of medical science and art. In 
 the year 1807 the Medical Society of the County of 
 New York adopted a memorial to the legislature, set- 
 ting forth the desire of its members to "promote the 
 progress of medical knowledge," and to give " en- 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 9 
 
 couragement and protection " to the pursuit of medi- 
 cal science; and expressing the belief that "their 
 usefulness would be extended in promoting the pub- 
 lic good and the improvement of their profession " by 
 their incorporation as a college under the auspices of 
 the State University. They accordingly petitioned to 
 be so incorporated " under the direction, inspection, 
 anSTpatronage of the Regents of the University," in 
 such manner as might be deemed proper " for the 
 public good, and the promotion and improvement of 
 the medical profession and the sciences connected 
 therewith." 
 
 At the same time a memorial was addressed to the 
 Regents_ofthe University informing them of the 
 efforts of the Society for the diffusion of science and 
 the improvement of the profession, and declaring that 
 these efforts " would be more successful if they were 
 directed under the patronage of the Regents," and 
 praying them to "favor the views of the said Society." 
 
 This action met with a prompt response from the 
 Regents of the University ; and within a month there- 
 after the members of th e Society were duly incorpor- 
 ated as a college, by a charter bearing date March 
 1 2th, 1807. The c harte r was granted by the Regents 
 under authority conferred on them by a previous act 
 of the legislature. 
 
 The Medical Society of the County of New York 
 was then in the second year of its existence,an3. num- 
 bered one hundred and thirty-nine members ; embrac- 
 ing all the legally qualified practitioners in the vicinity. 
 
 7 
 
 
 -' ^ v 
 
lO EARLY YEARS 
 
 Its constituent meeting, July ist, 1806, is called, in the 
 printed report of the proceedings, a " meeting of the 
 physicians and surgeons of the city and county of 
 New York." In the address of its presiding officer 
 on the following day it is spoken of by the same 
 designation ; and when, beside their org-anization as a 
 society, its members were also incorporated as a col- 
 lege, the institution so established was entitled the 
 College oy Physicians and Surgeons in the_dty of 
 New York. The members of the society became, by 
 the charter, members of the college. They were em- 
 powered to elect annually its president, vice president, 
 registrar, treasurer and censors ; to make by-laws, 
 rules and regulations relative to its affairs and prop- 
 erty ; and to direct the disposal of moneys in the 
 hands of the treasurer. They were responsible for 
 their administration only to the Regents of the Uni- 
 versity, to whom was reserved the appointment of 
 professors and the right of conferring degrees. 
 
 The College was therefore, in its primary organi- 
 zation, a creation of the Medical Society of the County 
 of New York ; and the body of its trustees or mem- 
 bers comprised all the members of that Society. This 
 forms one of its most honorable claims to distinction. 
 It represented the best endeavors of the profession 
 for the diffusion of medical knowledge and a better 
 medical education. It embodied their hopes for the 
 immediate needs of the time, and laid the foundation 
 for further improvement in the future. 
 
 But an educational institution can hardly be ad- 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. II 
 
 ministered successfully by so large a body of man- 
 agers as the whole membership of the county medical 
 society. « However sincere their intention, they could 
 not all possess the requisite knowledge nor command 
 the necessary time for the regulation of its affairs ; 
 and in point of fact at their first meeting, to complete 
 the college organization. May 5th, 1807, only sixty- 
 three members were present. Other defects in the 
 charter became apparent on trial. Under its^ pro- 
 visions the executive officers of the College were to 
 be elected annually. But these officers require, for 
 the due performance of their functions, the experience 
 and familiarity of continuous service ; and the busi- 
 ness of the institution would be liable to derangement 
 if they were too frequently changed. 
 
 These imperfections seemed so obvious that in the 
 following year the College presented to the Regents 
 a request for certain changes, which were considered 
 "important to the stability and usefulness of the insti- 
 tution;" and the charter was consequently amended 
 by an ordinance passed March 3d, 1808. 
 
 The alterations introduced by this amendment 
 were two-fold. First, t he offi cers of the College, in- 
 stead of being elected annually by the corporation, 
 were_ appointed by the JR.6gents, thus giving greater 
 stability to the organization ; and secondly, all mem- 
 bers of the medical society who wished to serve as 
 tr uste es or members of the College were required, as 
 a condition, to declare in writing their acceptance of 
 the trust, and that they would, " to the best of their 
 
12 EARLY YEARS 
 
 abilities, endeavour to promote the usefulness of the 
 said College, and faithfully execute the several duties 
 required of them." By this means the institution was 
 relieved of its doubtful or indifferent members, and 
 was entrusted to those who had faith in its destiny 
 and would give it the guaranty of their favor and sup- 
 port. 
 
 In the mean time the College had elected its officers, 
 adopted a code of by-laws, and had been provided 
 with a corps of professors and lecturers, ready to carry 
 on the business of instruction. They were as follows : 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1807. 
 
 Nicholas Romayne, M.D., President, and Lecturer on 
 Anatomy. 
 
 Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D., Vice President, and Pro- 
 fessor of Chemistry. 
 
 Edward Miller, M.D., Professor of the Practice of 
 Physic and Clinical Medicine. 
 
 David Hosack, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica 
 and Botany, and Lecturer on Surgery aud Mid- 
 wifery. 
 
 Archibald Bruce, M.D., Registrar, and Professor of 
 Mineralogy. 
 
 Benjamin De Witt, M.D., Professor of the Lnstitutes 
 of Medicine and Lecturer on Chem^istry. 
 
 John Augustine Smith, Adjunct Lecturer on Anat- 
 omy. 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. ' 1 3 
 
 All of these gentlemen were residents of the city 
 and members of the County Medical Society, with the 
 exception of John Augustine Smith, who came from 
 Virginia to accept his appointment in the College. 
 He was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons 
 of London, where he had completed his medical edu- 
 cation. He afterward received the honorary degree 
 of M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 where he was serving as professor. 
 
 At a meeting of the College in June, 1807, the 
 president, professors, and lecturers were constituted a 
 " Senatus academicus," or a sort of standing com- 
 mittee, to " correspond with the medical societies in 
 the several counties in the State," to make regula- 
 tions for the teaching department, to ascertain what 
 branches of medical science "usually taught in the 
 most respectable universities" w^ere still unprovided 
 for, and to nominate fit and proper persons to fill such 
 vacancies. 
 
 Under this authority a circular was issued to the 
 presidents of the different county medical societies, 
 informing them of the establishment of the College 
 and of the intended course of instruction. It is evi- 
 dent from various sources that the Collegre was in- 
 tended to be an institution of wide and general use- 
 fulness to the profession, embracing, as one of its 
 functions, that of systematic medical teaching. The 
 circular declares that "it is the principal object of this 
 new Institution to assist the progress of medical sci- 
 ence in every part of the State of New York ; " and 
 
14 EARLY YEARS 
 
 that its members consider " the cultivation of corre- 
 spondence and intimate connection with the Medical 
 Society of the State, and the Medical Societies of the 
 several Counties as one of their most important du- 
 ties." It also announces that "under the direction 
 and patronage of the Regents the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons have instituted a School of Physic, 
 which it will be their unremitting endeavour to render 
 equal, in extent, comprehensiveness, and accuracy of 
 instruction, to the most distinguished universities of 
 Europe ; " and that they have procured, " in a cen- 
 tral part of the city," a commodious building, where 
 apartments will be fitted up for the use of the lecturers 
 and students. The arrangements were completed in 
 accordance with this plan, and the first course of lec- 
 tures was_duly opened on Tuesday, November loth, 
 1807. 
 
 But such an institution is not set on foot without 
 the expenditure of money. Many outlays must be in- 
 curred for indispensable objects before there can be 
 any source of revenue. The annual rent of the house 
 secured for the use of the College was $800. The 
 necessary repairs, fittings, and furniture, to make it 
 available for its new purpose, cost $730. Moreover, 
 there were charges for fuel, printing, wages, anatomical 
 material, chemical apparatus and supplies, and other 
 incidental requisites, amounting during the year to 
 $1,120 additional. How were these unavoidable ex- 
 penditures to be met ? In the first place, there were 
 "contributions" from various members of the College, 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 1 5 
 
 in sums of from ten to twenty dollars each, amounting 
 in all to $230. Secondly, Dr. Romayne gave his note 
 of hand for $5,000, which was used by the College as 
 security to obtain advances of money from the Manhat- 
 tan Bank. Subsequently, Dr. Romayne was joined in 
 this guaranty by Drs. Miller and Bruce, and further 
 sums were added to it until it amounted, in 1810, to over 
 $8,000. Meanwhile a grant was made to the College 
 by the legislature of an interest in the "literature 
 fund lotteries," originally established for the benefit of 
 Union College in Schenectady. This grant was to 
 yield twenty thousand dollars, in successive instal- 
 ments of five thousand dollars each. The first of 
 these instalments was paid in 1810, and was used to 
 liquidate a part of the above debt ; but the joint obli- 
 gation of Drs. Romayne, Miller, and Bruce was not 
 fully discharged until December, 1813. 
 
 TheJ^^entral part ot the city," in which the Col 
 lege.was inaugurated and where its first sessions were 
 held, was Robinson street. It was a short street, run- vtx/' 
 ning west from Broadway to the grounds then occu- 
 pied by Columbia College ; and formed a portion of 
 what is now Park Place.* Even its present designa- 
 tion has long been a misnomer, since the disappear- 
 ance of the Park from its eastern extremity and its ex- 
 tension as a street in the opposite direction to the 
 North River. The college building was at number 
 18, on the south side of the street. Probably not a 
 single feature of the locality, as it then was, exists 
 
 * The name of Robinson street was changed to Park Place in 1813. 
 
1 6 EARLY YEARS 
 
 to-day ; biit for the friends of the institution it must 
 always retain a certain mysterious interest, as the 
 earliest domicile of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons. 
 
 At that time the population of New York was but 
 little more than eighty thousand. Most of the city 
 was below Chambers street. The wealthier resi- 
 dences were at the lower end of Broadway, about the 
 Battery and Bowling Green, with the shops in the 
 upper part of the same street. Broadway was paved 
 only to the neighborhood of Canal street, beyond 
 which it continued as a road. Canal street itself ex- 
 isted only on paper, and was represented by a swamp 
 and a sluggish stream, crossed by a bridge at the in- 
 tersection of Broadway. The New York Hospital 
 was in an open space on the west side of Broadway, 
 between the present Duane and Worth streets. Its 
 approach from Broadway was bordered with elms ; 
 and it had on one side a kitchen garden, to supply it 
 with vegetables. It was three stories in height ; and 
 the cupola on its roof commanded an extensive view, 
 embracing " the entire city," as well as ** the harbour 
 and country beyond, to a great distance." The Park, 
 in the upper portion of the city, occupied the triangu- 
 lar space between Broadway and Park Row, now cov- 
 ered in great measure by the Post Office building and 
 the adjoining thoroughfare. It was " planted with 
 elms, planes, willows, and catalpas." The space was 
 enclosed with a wooden paling, and the surrounding 
 foot-walk " encompassed by rows of poplars." The 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 1 7 
 
 water-supply of the city was from wells and pumps, 
 usually situated in the middle of the street ; the water 
 being distributed thence in casks by wagons to the 
 house doors. There was a stage route from Wall 
 street to Greenwich village, about two miles distant, 
 the present vicinity of Christopher street. The ferries 
 to Brooklyn and the Jersey shore were served by row 
 boats and small sailing craft. There were neither 
 Croton water-works nor gas companies ; and none of 
 the streets were occupied by telegraph lines or ele- 
 vated railroads. 
 
 But notwithstanding this contrast with the appear- 
 ance of the city at present, it would be a mistake to 
 suppose that there was anything that could be called 
 primitive in its people or their mode of life. They 
 occupied a smaller area and lived at the beginning of 
 the century ; but except for the differences of space 
 and time, they were as busy, enterprising, luxurious 
 and progressive then as now. The population of the 
 city had increased over thirty per cent, since 1800; 
 and in certain localities the land was said to have 
 tripled In value within twenty years. Mr. John Lam- 
 bert, an English writer who visited this country in 
 1807, found every indication of prosperity. In the 
 business part of the town " all was life, bustle and 
 activity." The houses in Broadway were " lofty and 
 well built ; " the shops " large and commodious, well 
 stocked with European and India goods, and exhibit- 
 ing as splendid and varied a show in their windows 
 as could be met with in London." The manner of 
 
1 8 EARLY YEARS 
 
 living, ariiong the wealthy and professional classes, 
 seemed "little inferiour to that of Europeans ; " their 
 houses being "furnished with everything agreeable or 
 ornamental," and "fitted up in the tasteful magnifi- 
 cence of modern style."* There were seven or eight 
 daily newspapers, and a medical quarterly edited by 
 two of the most prominent members of the profes- 
 sion. 
 
 Such was the condition of the city and the times 
 when the College of Physicians and Surgeons came 
 into existence. Its friends believed that a promising 
 field of prosperity and usefulness lay before it, and 
 the immediate result was not disappointing. Its first 
 course of lectures was attended by fifty-three students. 
 Early in the following year it appeared to the Regents 
 of the University that the College had commenced its 
 business in a manner "to answer all the expectations 
 entertained in its establishment ; " and they recom- 
 mended it, in their report to the legislature, as an 
 ^^^aU'A-'^ institution "important to the welfare of the people of 
 i*^ the State." At the second session its class numbered 
 
 4>r "•'','-- 
 
 
 seventy-six, and at the third eighty-two. 
 
 After the first year the faculty was completed by 
 the permanent appointment of professors in place of 
 lecturers, giving it the following organization : 
 
 * This modern style was the revival of classical taste in architecture 
 and house decoration, which originated in France under the consulate 
 and the empire, and extended thence to England and the United States. 
 It continued in vogue, in this country, for about twenty years. 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1808. 
 
 19 
 
 Nicholas Romayne, M.D., President, and Professor 
 of the Institutes of Medicine. . 
 
 Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D,, Vice President, and Pro- 
 fessor of Natter al History and Botany. 
 
 Edward Miller, M.D., Professor of the Practice of 
 Physic and Clinical Medicine. 
 
 Archibald Bruce, M.D., Professor of Mineralogy and 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 Benjamin De Witt, M.D. , Professor of Chemistry. 
 
 John Augustine Smith, Professor of Anato7ny a?id 
 Surgery. 
 
 William James Macneven, M.D., Professor of Obstet- 
 rics and the Diseases of Woinefi and Children. 
 
 Such a course of instruction was intended to an- 
 swer the requirements of a thoroughly hberal medi- 
 cal education ; including, in addition to the ordinary 
 topics, the auxiliary branches of natural history, bot- 
 any and mineralogy. The "institutes of medicine " 
 comprised physiology and hygiene, the general doc- 
 trine of the causes and symptoms of disease, and 
 general therapeutics. Mineralogy was taught by the 
 professor of materia medica, and anatomy and surgery 
 were also confided to a single chair. The distribu- 
 tion of subjects was therefore unlike that generally 
 adopted at the present day. The regular lecture 
 term was of four months' duration. 
 
 In some other respects the methods of that time 
 were different from those to which we are now accus- 
 
20 EARLY YEARS 
 
 tomecl. The main business of the session was ap- 
 proached with a certain formaHty, befitting the pro- 
 fessional dignity of the occasion. The first day was 
 devoted to an introductory address by the president, 
 at twelve o'clock. Afterward the professors followed 
 in turn, on successive days, at the same hour, each 
 with an introductory in his own department ; so that 
 on the whole an entire week was taken up with pre- 
 liminary medical literature. But the regular course 
 once fairly opened, the work of instruction was car- 
 ried on with industry and zeal. It appears from the 
 programme for 1 808 that five lectures were given in 
 the College every day. Some of the professors lect- 
 ured four times a week, others daily throughout the 
 session. Both their time and that of their pupils must 
 have been fully occupied. 
 
 It is also noticeable that measures were taken from 
 the very beginning, to secure the advantages of hos- 
 pital instruction. At a meeting of the College in 
 June, 1807, it was Resolved, " that the Senatus acad- 
 .^^^^ ' emicus be empowered, on the part of the College, to 
 confer with the Governors of the New York Hospital 
 relative to the promotion of medical education ; " and 
 later in the same year it was announced that the stu- 
 dents would " have an opportunity of attending the 
 practice of Dr. Miller at the New York Hospital, the 
 Governors of that Institution having with great liber- 
 ality made arrangements for that purpose." The hour 
 for clinical instruction at the hospital was from twelve 
 to one o'clock. Visits were also made with Dr. Mac- 
 
« ,- /' 
 
 OF THE COLLEGE. 2 1 
 
 neven at the almshouse, then situated in Chambers 
 street on the site of the present city court house. 
 
 The house in Robinson street was one hired for i /J 
 temporary use, and at the end of the second year the '^ , \ 
 
 College ^ was removed to a building of its own in Maga- 
 zine street. This was a street extending east from a 
 point in Broadway opposite the grounds of the hos- 
 pital. It afterward became the upper end of Pearl 
 street, with which it was united in 1811. The prop- 
 erty consisted of a lot twenty-five feet in width by one 
 hundred feet in depth, having upon it a dwelling 
 house, probably of two or two and a half stories. It 
 was purchased in 1807 by Dr. Romayne, who at first 
 held it in trust, the title being afterward formally trans- 
 ferred to the College. It was on the south side of 
 the street, near Broadway, and corresponded with the 
 present number 553 Pearl street. After being fitted 
 up for the reception of the College, it was occu£ied in 
 November, 1809. 
 
 This was the history of the institution for the first 
 few years of its existence. During that time it num- 
 bered in its faculty several members of marked char- 
 acter and ability. 
 
 Foremost among these was Nicholas Romayne, the 
 most^active man in the organization of the College, and 
 its first president. He was the delegate who obtained its 
 charter from the Regents of the University; he pledged 
 his personal credit to provide it with funds ; and he 
 delivered for three years the lectures on the institutes of 
 medicine. He was a little over fifty years of age, and 
 
2 2 EARLY YEARS 
 
 already a successful teacher of private pupils in nearly 
 all the departments of medicine. He was elected 
 president of the Medical Society of the County of 
 New York at its organization in 1806, and was presi- 
 dent of the State Medical Society in 1809, 18 10 and 
 iSij ; and he had been zealous in procuring from the 
 legislature a variety of laws for the benefit of the pro- 
 fession. He was a man of large stature, but easy and 
 graceful motion ; of vigorous and cultivated mind, ac- 
 tive ambition and persistent energy ; and of a dis- 
 position always ready to accept the responsibilities 
 of the occasion. If the College can be said to have 
 been established through the special exertion and in- 
 fluence of any one man. Dr. Romayne must undoubt- 
 edly be regarded as its founder. 
 
 Equally notable was Dr. Samuel L. Mitcliill, vice 
 president of jthe College, senator of the United States, 
 professor of Chemistry and Natural History. He was 
 between forty and fifty years of age, and of wide re- 
 putation as a man of talent and accomplishments. 
 According to his biographers he was a kind of " hu- 
 man dictionary," whose opinion was sought by 
 schemers and inventors of every grade, and who 
 could be consulted with profit on any question of 
 science, history or politics. He was equally distin- 
 guished for his learning and originality, and for his 
 " hospitality to new ideas." He could discourse in 
 turn on a Babylonian brick, meteoric stones, the theory 
 of chemical combination, the construction of a wind-mill, 
 the fishes of North America, or the geology of Niagara 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 22> 
 
 Falls. He was one of the founders and editors of the 
 New York " Medical Repository," the earliest medical 
 periodical in the United States, and he was for twenty 
 years indefatigable in contributing to its success. He 
 
 Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D. 
 
 Vice President of the College, 1S07-1811. Senator of the United States, 
 1804-1809. Professor of Chemistry, 1807-1808 ; of Natural History and Botany, 
 1808-1820; and of Botany and Materia Medica, 1820-1826. From an engraved 
 copy of the portrait by Jarvis, now in the library hall of Colmnbia College ; 
 painted about 1815. 
 
24 EARLY YEARS 
 
 obtained from Congress the appropriation for the de- 
 fences of New York harbor ; he aided De Witt CHn- 
 ton in his project for the Erie canal, and was the 
 orator of the day at the ceremony of its inauguration ; 
 he beheved in Robert Fulton's idea of steam naviga- 
 tion, and went on the trial trip of his first steamboat 
 to Albany. Disinterested, patriotic, engaging and 
 communicative, he was an influential character in the 
 creation and development of American science. 
 
 Dr. Edzvard Miller, professor of Practice and 
 Clinical Medicine, represented in his day the best type 
 of the learned and skilful practitioner. Of liberal 
 education and classical tastes, he kept pace with the 
 advance of professional knowledge ; and his agreeable 
 manners were combined with an integrity of purpose 
 universally acknowledged. His friend. Dr. Mitchill, 
 says of him that " his head was a treasury of informa- 
 tion, and his heart a mine of benevolence." He was 
 associated with Dr. Mitchill in the editorship of the 
 "Medical Repository," and was visiting physician and 
 clinical lecturer at the New York Hospital. With a 
 large and lucrative practice, he possessed to an un- 
 usual degree the attachment of his patients, the esteem 
 of his colleagues, and the confidence of the public. 
 It is said that the concourse at his funeral, in 1812, 
 was larger than had ever been seen in New York on a 
 similar occasion, except in the single case of Alexander 
 Hamilton. 
 
 Dr. Archibald Brtice, registrar of the College and 
 professor of Mineralogy and Materia Medica, was 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 25 
 
 younger than most of his colleagues, but well known 
 for his scientific attainments. After graduating at 
 Columbia College, he pursued the study of medicine 
 at Edinburgh, where he received the degree of M.D. 
 in 1800. He then visited various parts of Europe, 
 spending his time in the study of mineralogy, and in 
 collecting a valuable cabinet of specimens which he 
 brought with him on his return to New York. He 
 soon afterward commenced the publication of the 
 American journal of Mi7ieralogy, the first purely 
 scientific journal in this country, and the immediate 
 predecessor of Silliman's "American Journal of Sci- 
 ence." In conjunction with his former preceptor, Dr. 
 Romayne, he'was active in establishing the incorpor- 
 ated medical societies which did so much for the se- 
 curity and improvement of the profession in the 
 County and State of New York. In a biographical 
 notice, published in Silliman's journal in 181 8, it is 
 said that Dr. Bruce's ruling passion was love of sci- 
 ence ; his special attention being devoted to mineral- 
 ogy. On this subject he became a "focus of informa- 
 tion ; " and he was particularly assiduous in bringing 
 to light the mineral resources of the United States. 
 He was social in his habits and disposition, ever for- 
 ward to promote scientific interests, and an earnest and 
 successful worker in his chosen field of knowledge. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin De Witt, professor of the Institutes 
 of Medicine, also lectured on Chemistry in 1807 dur- 
 ing Dr. Mitchill's absence at Washington as member 
 of the Senate. The following year he was appointed 
 
26 EARLY YEARS 
 
 professor of that branch, Dr. Mitchill assuming the 
 more congenial department of Natural History, Dr. 
 De Witt was then established in the city as a practi- 
 tioner, having graduated in medicine at the university 
 of Pennsylvania in 1797. He was the previous occu- 
 pant of the house in Robinson street selected for the 
 College, where his name appears as a resident in the 
 city Directory for 1807. He afterward became vice 
 president of the College, and one of the censors of the 
 State Medical Society. He was co-editor and con- 
 tributor to the New York " Medical and Philosophical 
 Journal and Review," a semi-annual publication issued 
 in 1809, 1810 and i8ti. In 1815 he was appointed 
 Health Officer of the port of New York, and continued 
 to perform the duties of that office till his death in 18 19. 
 Dr. William J. Macneven, appointed professor of 
 Obstetrics in 1808, was of Irish birth but received his 
 education in Germany and graduated in medicine at 
 the university of Vienna in 1783. After commencing 
 practice in Dublin, he joined the society of " United 
 Irishmen" and took part in the rebellion of 1798, for 
 which he was arrested and imprisoned until 1802. 
 After his liberation he spent a year or two in France ; 
 coming to this country in 1804, at the same time with 
 Thomas Addis Emmet, his friend and political asso- 
 ciate. He at once entered on the practice of medicine 
 in New York, where his personal character, as well 
 as his professional and literary qualifications, secured 
 for him a cordial recognition. He was the author of 
 a treatise on the Use and Const7'Uction of the Mine 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 27 
 
 Auger, a translation from the German, London, 1788 ; 
 Exposition of the Atomic Theory, New York, 18 19; 
 and an edition of Brande s Manual of Chemistry, 
 with notes and emendations, New York, 1821. He 
 was also associated with Dr. De Witt, and afterward 
 with Dr. John Augustine Smith, in the editorship of 
 the " Medical and Philosophical Journal and Review." 
 
 At the end of the fourth session, were held the first 
 graduating exercises of the College. After the candi- 
 dates had been privately examined by the professors, 
 a list of those found qualified was sent to the Regents 
 of the University, in whom resided the authority for 
 issuing the diplomas. Subsequently each candidate 
 submitted to the faculty his graduating thesis, written 
 " either in the English, French, or Latin language," 
 which he was required to defend at a special public 
 examination ; and finally, all these preliminaries being 
 fulfilled, the degrees were conferred and the diplomas 
 delivered at a public Commencement on Wednesday, 
 May 15th, 181 1. 
 
 The exercises on this occasion were somewhat 
 elaborate, the programme having been arranged be- 
 forehand by a committee appointed for that purpose. 
 At half-past ten in the forenoon a procession was 
 formed at the City Hall, consisting of " students of 
 medicine, candidates for graduation, Members of the 
 College, the Professors, President and Vice Presi- 
 dent, the Trustees of Columbia College, the Chan- 
 cellor and Regents of the University, the Reverend 
 
28 EARLY YEARS OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 Clergy of different denominations, Physicians, Gentle- 
 men of the bar, and Strangers of distinction." The 
 procession, headed by the janitor of the College, 
 moved from the City Hall to the Brick Presbyte- 
 rian Church,* which it entered "in inverted order." 
 The president ascended the pulpit, the Regents of the 
 University seating themselves on his right and the 
 professors on his left, upon a stage erected for the pur- 
 pose ; the candidates for graduation occupying seats 
 in the body of the church. After a prayer, of pre- 
 scribed form and considerable length, the candidates 
 rose from their seats, passed into the aisle and re- 
 mained standing, while the president asked the assent 
 of the faculty and of the Regents to their graduation, 
 and administered to them in a body the Hippocratic 
 oath. The first candidate was then called upon the 
 stage, to inscribe his name in the college Album ; 
 after which, having "his hands embraced by those of 
 the president," that officer pronounced the Latin for- 
 mula creating him Doctor in Medicine, and delivered 
 to him his diploma. This ceremony having been re- 
 peated with all the graduates in succession, they list- 
 ened to a charge from the vice president, and the 
 exercises were concluded with prayer. 
 
 The graduates at this Commencement were eio-ht 
 in number, of whom five had attended the first session 
 of the College in 1807-8. 
 
 * This church was in the triangular space between the east side ot 
 the City Hall Park, Nassau and Beekman streets. It was built in 1767. 
 and demolished in 1857. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN BARCLAY STREET. 
 
 PERIOD OF DISSENSION. 
 
 181I-1826. 
 
 The four years from 1807 to 181 1, during which 
 time the organization and policy of the College re- 
 mained substantially the same, may be said to em- 
 brace the first chapter of its history. The second 
 opens in 1811, when Dr. Samuel Bard was ap- 
 pointed president in place of Dr. Romayne, and a 
 change was effected in the constitution of the College 
 by a supplementary charter. Soon afterward all the 
 existing modifications and amendments were consoli- 
 dated in a new charter, granted by the Regents of the 
 University in 18 12. By this instrument the govern- 
 ment of the institution was vested in a Board of Trus- 
 tees, limited in number to twenty-five, of which the 
 professors, president, vice president and treasurer 
 were appointed members. The remaining vacancies 
 were to be filled by the Regents at their discretion ; 
 but only a few additional appointments were made at 
 that time, leaving the Board mainly in the hands of 
 the professors and executive officers. 
 
 A plan was also set on foot for bringing into the 
 faculty the medical professors of Columbia College. 
 In this institution medical lectures had been given, by 
 
so THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 teachers of acknowledged ability, for nearly twenty 
 years. But the classes in attendance had never been 
 large ; and the whole number of graduates, from 1793 
 to 18 1 3, was only thirty-five. It was already evident 
 that the College of Physicians and Surgeons had in it 
 the elements of success ; and it was thought that by 
 combining in a single faculty the teachers of both 
 schools, the most complete and efficient course of 
 instruction might be provided. This was soon after 
 accomplished by the mutual consent of the two Boards 
 of Trustees ; the medical lectures in Columbia Col- 
 lege being discontinued, and its professors passing 
 into the faculty of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons. Early in 1814 the change was formally rati- 
 fied by the Regents of the University, and the organ- 
 ization of the faculty became as follows : 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1814. 
 
 Samuel Bard, M.D., President. 
 
 Benjamin De Witt, M.D., Vice President, and Pro- 
 fessor of Natural Philosophy. 
 William J. Macneven, M.D., Professor of Chemistry. 
 Samuel L. Mitchill, M.D., Professor of Natural 
 
 History and Bota?iy. 
 
 J , c^ T\T r-w 1 yoint Professors of 
 
 John Augustine Smith, M.D., y ^^^^^J^^ pj^^J, 
 
 Wright Post, M.D., ) logy and Surgery. 
 
 David Hosack, M.D., Professor of the Theory and 
 
 Practice of Physic. 
 William Hamersley, M.D., Professor of Clinical 
 
 Medicine. 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 3 1 
 
 John C. Osborn, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics and 
 the Diseases of Women and Children. 
 
 James S. Stringham, M.D., Professor of Legal Medi- 
 cine. 
 
 Valentine Mott, M.D., Professor of the Principles 
 and Practice of Surgery. 
 
 John W. Francis, M.D., Registrar, and Professor of 
 Materia Medica. 
 
 The additional members thus introduced into the 
 faculty were the previous medical professors of Colum- 
 bia College, excepting Dr. John W. Francis, who was 
 an alumnus of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 having graduated at its first Commencement in 1811. 
 The new professors were at once appointed to the 
 Board of Trustees, of which their colleagues were al- 
 ready members under the charter of 18 12. 
 
 This completed the change in the constitution of 
 the College, and made an essential difference in its 
 mode of operation. In effect, the professors became 
 the governing, as well as the teaching body of the in- 
 stitution. As they were often sufficient in number to 
 form a majority of the Board, or even a quorum by 
 themselves, and as they were necessarily more con- 
 versant than most of their associates with the situa- 
 tion of affairs, their influence must predominate in 
 shaping the policy and regulating the concerns of the 
 College. 
 
 One of the first enterprises, under the new regime, 
 was that of obtaining a different site and building for 
 
32 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 the College ; a committee having been appointed for 
 that purpose in January, 1813. The reason assigned 
 for this action, in the annual report to the Regents, 
 was that the building in Pearl (formerly Magazine) 
 street was not only small and insecure, but " ineligi- 
 
 The City Hall Park and Vicinity, 
 
 in the early part of the century ; from an engraved Map of the City of New York, 
 by Thos. H. Poppleton, city surveyor, 1817. In the Whitney collection of en- 
 gravings, Columbia College Library. 
 
 I, City Hall; 2, Bridewell; 3, Old Almshouse; 4, Brick Presbyterian 
 Church ; 5, Park Theatre ; 6, College of Physicians and Surgeons. 
 
 bly situated." As this ineligible situation was in 
 close proximity to Broadway and within a few hun- 
 dred yards of the New York Hospital, it seems likely 
 that a few years' longer experience would have de- 
 monstrated its advantage as a location for the College, 
 and justified the wisdom of its former purchase. But 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 
 
 Zl 
 
 m 
 
 COtMEGE CUfTPHYSICIANS AND StMCEOTSSJ 
 
 
 ^ /$ 
 
 >| fr 
 
 ^ 
 
 The College Building, no. 3 Barclay Street. 
 1813-1817. 
 
 From an engraving in the American Medical and Philosophical Register, 
 New York, 1814. 
 
34 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 at that time it may have appeared too remote from 
 the thickly settled portion of the city, and was per- 
 haps inconvenient from the want of pavement and 
 sidewalks. At all events, the recommendation of the 
 committee was adopted, the Pearl street property 
 was sold, and the College purchased the lot and build- 
 ing at number 3 Barclay street. This lot was on the 
 north side of the street, near Broadway, and meas- 
 ured twenty-five feet in width by seventy-five feet in 
 depth. The building, which was originally a brick 
 store-house, twenty-five feet wide by thirty-eight feet 
 deep, was so altered and repaired as to convert it 
 into a medical college with two lecture rooms. It 
 was three stories in height, with a terminal balustrade 
 and a cupola, surmounted by a statue of Apollo, to 
 indicate the scientific and medical character of the 
 institution. It was occupied at the opening of the 
 seventh session, on the first Monday of November, 
 1813. 
 
 These provisions for greater space and more 
 varied instruction were soon followed by a larger 
 attendance. At the eighth session (18 14-15) the 
 class numbered one hundred and twenty-one ; at 
 the ninth (1815-16), one hundred and forty-eight; 
 and at the tenth (1816-17), one hundred and ninety- 
 two. This increase, which was quite beyond all for- 
 mer anticipations, made it necessary to provide still 
 further accommodation ; and in 181 7 the building was 
 doubled in size by extending it over the adjoining lot 
 on the west, giving it a frontage of fifty feet on Bar- 
 
B ARC LA Y STREET. 
 
 35 
 
 clay street. It was fitted up with thi'ee lecture 
 rooms ; a chemical lecture room on the first floor ; 
 a hall, or general lecture and audience room, on the 
 second floor ; and an anatomical theatre on the third 
 floor. Thus enlarged, the building continued to serve 
 as the domicile of the College for the next twenty 
 years. 
 
 The College Building in Barclay Street, 
 
 after its enlargement. 
 
 1817-1837. 
 
 From a print in the Picture of Neiv York and Stranger'' s Guide, 
 
 New York, 1828. 
 
 Soon after the completion of these alterations an 
 additional lot of land, immediately north of the Col- 
 lege, extending through to Park Place, was secured 
 by the purchase of its unexpired lease of twenty-four 
 years ; thus affording access to the College from the 
 rear. At a meeting of the Trustees in October, 1817, 
 a resolution was adopted declaring it to be " of the 
 greatest importance to the safety and convenience of 
 
36 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 this school to possess the said lot ; " and, the necessary- 
 funds having been advanced by the professor of anatomy, 
 Dr. Wright Post, the purchase was made and reported 
 at an adjourned meeting of the Board in the following 
 month. At the same time it was declared expedient to 
 erect upon this lot, in the rear of the College, " a build- 
 ing to answer the purposes of a stable ; " and a com- 
 mittee wa^ appointed to carry the plan into execution. 
 
 The expediency of securing an additional entrance 
 for the " safety and convenience " of the College was 
 no doubt owing to the existing exigencies and diffi- 
 culties in the supply of subjects for dissection. The 
 legal sources of this supply were at that time very 
 inadequate; and it is more than likely, from various 
 allusions, that the building intended to " answer the 
 purposes of a stable " was mainly useful in connection 
 with nocturnal expeditions in the interest of the ana- 
 tomical department. 
 
 Another acquisition, then thought to be very im- 
 portant, was that of the " Elgin Botanic Garden." 
 This garden was the property of Dr. Hosack,* who 
 had purchased the land from the city, and placed it 
 under cultivation as a botanical preserve. In the 
 American Medical and Philosophical Register' for 
 July, 1811, it is described as an enclosure of about 
 twenty acres, " on the Middle Road," f a little over 
 
 * It was named from the town of Elgin, in the north of Scotland, the 
 birthplace of Dr. Hosack's father. 
 
 \ This was a road running in a northerly direction, above the pres- 
 ent site of Madison Square, in the region between the " Boston Post 
 Road " on the east and the " Bloomingdale Road " on the west. 
 
BARCLAY STREET ^ 
 
 three miles from the city ; and is illustrated by an en- 
 graved picture, showing its lawns, foot-paths, shrubs, 
 flowers, trees, and conservatories. Its location is now 
 included between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, from For- 
 ty-seventh to Fifty-first streets ; the valuable lease- 
 hold property of Columbia College. 
 
 Dr. Hosack, finding the garden too expensive an 
 establishment for private maintenance, proposed to 
 transfer its ownership to the State of New York, for 
 public instruction in botany and materia medica ; and 
 the County Medical Society adopted a memorial set- 
 ting forth its advantages as an aid to medical educa- 
 tion, and recommending its acquisition for that object. 
 The proposal was agreed to. The Botanic Garden 
 was purchased, under an act of the legislature, for 
 seventy-four thousand dollars, and assigned to the 
 keeping of the Regents of the University, as the 
 guardians of educational interests in the State. The 
 Regents, having no funds especially provided for 
 maintaining the garden, placed it under the care of 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons, " to be by 
 them kept in a state of preservation, and in a condi- 
 tion fit for all the medical purposes, free of expense, 
 under the immediate inspection of the regents resi- 
 dent in the city of New York, and that the said garden 
 be at all times open to the admission of such medical 
 students as may resort thereto for the purpose of 
 acquiring Botanical Science." In the college circular 
 for 1811 it was announced that "the Botanic Garden 
 having been purchased by the State and placed under 
 
38 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 \<k\ 
 
 the direction of the College, the students of Botany 
 will have an opportunity of visiting it whenever they 
 think proper, and of examining the many rare and 
 valuable plants which it contains." 
 
 But no sooner was this desirable establishment in 
 the possession of the College, than it became a source 
 of continual annoyance. The cisterns, conserva- 
 tories and heating flues needed immediate repair. A 
 gardener was appointed under contract, to keep the 
 grounds in proper condition ; , and there were dis- 
 agreements between him and the College, as to how 
 far each had fulfilled their respective engagements. 
 Successive reports, for the next few years, showed 
 the garden to be " much deteriorated," fences and 
 cisterns out of repair, roads and paths in bad con- 
 dition, and many of the plants lost or damaged. 
 There seemed little prospect of making the enter- 
 prise a success ; and moreover it was found, no doubt, 
 that medical students in Barclay street had something 
 else to do than to make excursions to the Botanic 
 Garden, for the purpose of examining " rare and valu- 
 able medicinal plants." Finally, the ownership.. of the 
 land having been transferred, under certain conditions, 
 by act of the legislature, to Columbia College, a com- 
 mittee was appointed, in 1816, to " wait on the Trustees 
 of Columbia College and deliver to them the posses- 
 sion of the said Botanic Garden." 
 
 This failure of the garden as a means of medical 
 instruction can hardly be attributed to any fault of the 
 College. The most promising plans for improvement 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 39 
 
 sometimes turn out differently from what was anti- 
 cipated ; as they are Hable to be affected by various 
 unforeseen conditions, the operation of which can only 
 be learned from experience. It is probable that none 
 of those formerly interested in the Botanic Garden 
 had any idea of the service it would finally render in 
 the cause of education, as a source of princely re- 
 venue to Columbia College. 
 
 The second president of the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons, Dr. Samuel Bard, was everywhere re- 
 garded with esteem and consideration. He had for- 
 merly been professor of the practice of physic in 
 Columbia College, dean of the medical faculty in the 
 same institution, and visiting physician to the New 
 York Hospital. At the time of his appointment as 
 president he was sixty-nine years of age and no 
 longer a resident of the city ; having retired from 
 practice, and spending most of the time at his country 
 seat, at Hyde Park on the banks of the Hudson. It 
 does not appear that he performed any active service 
 in the College, beyond that of presiding at commence- 
 ment exercises and delivering an occasional address. 
 But his name was considered a valuable guaranty for 
 the character and prospects of the institution, and he 
 remained its president until his death in 1821. His 
 successor in the presidential office was Dr. Wright 
 Post, the professor of anatomy and physiology. 
 
 The most prominent man in the affairs of the Col- 
 lege at this time was David Hosack. He was ap- 
 pointed professor at its organization in 1807, but for 
 
40 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 some reason did not retain his position after the first 
 year. He returned to it in 1811, and became mainly 
 instrumental in bringing- into the faculty his former as- 
 sociates of Columbia College. He was in the prime 
 of life and distinguished as a practitioner. His ardent 
 temperament and undoubting self-reliance led him to 
 the front in many controversial discussions ; and his 
 views were always maintained with force and ability. 
 He was especially popular as a teacher ; and his lect- 
 ure hour is said to have been awaited by all with 
 eager expectation. His sonorous voice and impres- 
 sive manner, and the changing expression of his face, 
 gestures and utterance, held the attention of his class 
 and gave them an instructive entertainment rather 
 than the didactic monotony of a lecture. In other 
 directions he was equally active. He* served as editor 
 of the American Medical and Philosophical Register / 
 he was for many years visiting physician to the New 
 York Hospital ; he was one of the founders and active 
 members of the New York Historical Society ; and his 
 weekly evening receptions were the resort for all the 
 social and literary celebrities of the day. He had an 
 extensive acquaintance beyond the circle of his profes- 
 sion, and he attracted attention from all by the vigor- 
 ous and enterprising qualities of his mind and disposi- 
 tion. 
 
 The professor of Surgery, Dr. Valentine Mott, 
 who was then about thirty years of age and already 
 rising into eminence, soon evinced a degree of ca- 
 pacity which made him the most celebrated operator 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 41 
 
 in the United States. He was the pioneer in various 
 exploits which were then uncertain ventures in the 
 field of operative surgery, but which his carefulness 
 and dexterity of manipulation almost invariably car- 
 ried to success. His ligature of the arteria innomi- 
 nata, in 18 18, is said to have made "an epoch in the 
 life of the operator, and an era in the history of sur- 
 gery." The ligature of the primitive iliac, the removal 
 of the entire clavicle, and the resection of the inferior 
 maxilla, extended still further his reputation for origi- • 
 nality and skill. In the frequency and gravity of his 
 operations he outranked all his contemporaries. He 
 made the ligature of the common carotid artery forty- 
 six times, and lithotomy more than a hundred and A 
 sixty times. In the opinion of his biographer he per- 
 formed " a greater number of important and capital ( 
 operations than any other surgeon who ever lived," 
 and for more than half a century his reputation was 
 " unequalled by that of any of his competitors in 
 America, and scarcely surpassed by that of the most 
 illustrious surgeons in Europe." 
 
 Not the least remarkable member of the faculty 
 was Dr. John W. Francis, registrar and professor of 
 materia medica. He had been the pupil of Dr. Ho- 
 sack, with whom he was associated in business, and 
 for whom he entertained a strong feeling of admira- 
 tion. He was a devoted adherent of the new colleo-e 
 organization, and served it to the best of his ability, 
 both as registrar and professor. Beside his profes- 
 sional attainments his talent was largely in the direc- 
 
42 ^ THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 tion of general literature ; and both in his lectures and 
 essays he was fond of " discursive utterances and 
 amusing conceits." He delighted in historic reminis- 
 cences. His sketches and memoirs, though some- 
 times wanting in accuracy of detail, are full of enter- 
 tainment ; and his description of persons and things 
 in the earlier half of the century forms a favorite vol- 
 ume in the publications of the New York Historical 
 Society. He was among the founders and presidents 
 of the New York Academy of Medicine, and was 
 president of the medical board of Bellevue Hospital 
 from the date of its organization. 
 
 Dr. Wright Post, appointed president of the 
 College in 1822, was at that time fifty-six years of 
 age. He had been professor for thirty years ; first in 
 the medical faculty of Columbia College and after- 
 ward in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. 
 For nearly the same time he had been visiting sur- 
 geon to the New York Hospital ; and he was every- 
 where esteemed for his skill as an operator, his fair- 
 ness and delicacy in consultation, and his solicitude 
 for the welfare of his patients. For twenty years he 
 was "the undisputed head of the profession in this 
 city ; " attaining in no ordinary degree the reward of 
 his labor in rank, wealth and reputation. In the esti- 
 mation of his contemporaries his success was due to 
 the general excellence of his mental and moral quali- 
 ties, rather than to any marked endowment or pecu- 
 liar gift. He had a refined and delicate physical 
 organization, with a cool head, more judgment than 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 43 
 
 imagination, and a manner which was always quiet 
 and unobtrusive. In the lecture room his delivery- 
 was simple and natural ; and he excelled in the pre- 
 sentation of truths attainable by patient industry. 
 Notwithstanding the prominent position which he so 
 long occupied, he seems to have been less deeply in- 
 volved than many of his colleagues in the disputes 
 and animosities of medical politics ; and he retained 
 without interruption the friendship and respect even 
 of those whose interests differed from his own. 
 
 Under these auspices the College became every 
 year more widely known and more largely attended. 
 A committee of the Regents reported it, in 1820, in a 
 state of "rapid advancement." Its class in that year 
 exceeded two hundred, being larger than at any for- 
 mer period; and in 1822, according to a report of the 
 Regents, it had " an increased number of students / 
 from the most distant parts of the United States." // 
 
 But notwithstanding this apparent prosperity there 
 were at work causes of disturbance, which already im- 
 peded the operation of the College, and which soon 
 grew to such proportions as to threaten it with dis- 
 aster. The difficulty began, in 18 19, with complaints 
 from the Medical Society of the County of New York. 
 After some correspondence, these complaints were 
 laid before the State Medical Society and the Regents 
 of the University. There were replies and counter- 
 charges from the professors, committees of investiga- 
 tion, and hearings before the Board of Regents ; until 
 the dispute culminated, in 1826, with the withdrawal 
 
44 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 of all the members of the faculty, and the ap2oiritment 
 of new professors in their place. 
 
 At that time the element of personality entered 
 largely into all discussions of a public nature ; and 
 there is evidence that it had its share in the college 
 controversy. The members of the medical society, not 
 directly connected with the College, were dissatisfied 
 with its management by the faculty. They declared 
 that this small body of men, whose talents and capac- 
 ity they freely acknowledged, had formed among them- 
 selves a sort of " learned aristocracy" with its "train 
 of favoritism ; " and that they disregarded too plainly 
 the claims and opinions of the profession. Under 
 their direction the College had become a source of 
 " exclusive privileges and immunities, to be exercised 
 for their sole benefit;" and instead of serving, as it 
 ought, for the general advancement of medicine in the 
 city and State, it was used to promote the private 
 interest of its possessors, and to supply honors and 
 emoluments for their immediate friends and associates. 
 
 Beside the foregoing, more serious charges were 
 brought against the faculty. The large classes in at- 
 tendance, and especially the great number of grad- 
 uates, instead of showing a wholesome growth of the 
 College, were regarded as signs of its det^erioration, 
 due to a culpable laxity in the examinations. It was 
 asserted that students had been oraduated before at- 
 taining the age of twenty-one years ; that some had 
 received their diplomas after less than two years' 
 study ; that others had been graduated without ever 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 45 
 
 having attended lectures in the Colleg-e ; and that it 
 had even been announced in the circulars that no 
 requisite for graduation would be expected, other than 
 that of a satisfactory examination. This, it was said, 
 was nothing less than an " invitation for full classes," 
 intended to benefit the lecturers in the institution, at 
 the expense of its character and usefulness. 
 
 Another cause of complaint was the large amount 
 of fees exacted from students. In the earlier years of 
 the College a definite and moderate sum had been 
 fixed as the price for each lecture ticket, a liberal al- 
 lowance being made for those who should take the 
 entire course ; and the president of each county medi- 
 cal society was invited to send to the College one stu- 
 dent freje of expense. But since then a different policy 
 had been pursued. The lecture fees had been so in- 
 creased as to make the expense of medical education 
 greater than it ought to be ; and the privilege of send- 
 ing a free student, formerly accorded to the county 
 medical societies, had been revoked. In some in- 
 stances the mzQ-oi pluralism was said to exist in the 
 professorial church ; one professor holding two, or 
 even three professorships at the same time, and re- 
 quiring those who wished for either ticket to pay for 
 all. Lastly, various additional fees had been estab- 
 lished, making the total expense of a college course 
 much greater than was originally intended. 
 
 All these evils were attributed to the control of the 
 College being vested in the professors. They were 
 subject, it is true, to the Regents of the University, 
 
46 ~ THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 whose consent was necessary to the adoption of by- 
 laws and the granting of degrees ; and who held the 
 appointing power for both professors and trustees. 
 But as professors and trustees were now practically 
 the same, and formed the sole channel of official com- 
 munication with the Regents, their interests and influ- 
 ence were unavoidably paramount, and excluded the 
 governing body from other sources of information. 
 They were, therefore, accountable for the alleged 
 abuses in the management of the College, and for the 
 public discredit into which it had unhappily fallen. 
 
 On the other hand, it was maintained by the pro- 
 fessors that these attacks came from the jealousy of 
 disappointed rivals, who had desired for themselves a 
 share in the honors of the College and were envious 
 of their more successful competitors. They claimed 
 that the teachers in the several departments must be 
 the most competent judges of a student's qualification 
 for his degree ; and that neither time of study, nor any 
 other technical requirement, could supply a criterion 
 equal to that of a professional examination. As to the 
 
 ' expense of the college course, they denied that this 
 was excessive ; and the increasing classes in attend- 
 ance showed that students did not consider it burden- 
 
 / some. To reduce the income of professors below the 
 standard of respectability would not be for the interest 
 of the College ; which should be able to command the 
 services of the best talent in the profession. They 
 
 \ adduced a variety of reasons to justify the policy which 
 they had pursued ; and they protested against the as- 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 47 
 
 sertions and inferences of their accusers as groundless 
 or distorted exagfoferations. 
 
 The views of the two parties as to their respective 
 rights and duties were so divergent that no basis of 
 accommodation could be reached, and the matter was 
 referred to higher authority, A committee was ap- 
 pointed by the County Medical Society " to inquire 
 into the condition of the College " and report thereon 
 to the society. The report, which embodied the 
 charges and criticisms above detailed, was followed 
 by a memorial addressed to the Regents of the Uni- 
 versity, setting forth the causes of dissatisfaction, and 
 praying that the College might be so reorganized as 
 to exclude the professors from the Board of Trustees. 
 It was also recommended that the new Board be com- 
 posed of physicians resident in the city, together with 
 the president of the College, the president of the 
 County Medical Society, and the president of the 
 State Medical Society ; and that future vacancies in 
 the Board be filled by the County Medical Society. 
 
 Early in 1820 this memorial was presented to the 
 Regents. It was urged upon the attention of the 
 Board with personal and documentary evidence, and 
 was supported by a petition from many of the practi- 
 tioners in New York. The professors were repre- 
 sented by a delegation from their own number, aided 
 by the advice and co-operation of Mr. Emmet, the 
 legal member of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 The Regents were by no means disposed to admit 
 all the charges and recommendations of the medical 
 
48 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 society, and they deprecated the apparent feehng of 
 hostihty toward the College. But they recognized 
 the existence of defects in its organization, and 
 were convinced of the necessity for some remedial 
 change. Especially the opinion advanced by the 
 society, as to the bad effect of combining in a single 
 body the functions of professors and _ trustees, was 
 thought to be " well founded ; " and it was decided to 
 separate them in future, so that trustees might no 
 longer be " liable, merely from their situation as pro- 
 fessors, to the suspicion of personal interest in the 
 adoption of regulations." The professors who were 
 already members of the Board were not displaced ; 
 but an ordinance was passed to the effect that " upon 
 the death, resignation or removal from office of the 
 'present professors, or of any of them, no person or 
 persons to be appointed as his or their successor or 
 successors, shall be also eligible to the office of trus- 
 tee ; provided always that the president and vice 
 /president of the said College, for the time being, shall 
 ■ ex-officiis be trustees thereof." As the two officers 
 above named were eligible from the faculty, and were 
 usually selected from that body, this secured for the 
 professors a virtual representation in the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 The Regents furthermore fixed the lecture fees 
 and other expenses of tuition at a definite rate, and 
 required that each candidate for graduation must have 
 studied medicine for three years with some respect- 
 able practitioner, and must have attended a full course 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 49 
 
 of lectures^ at not less than two winter sessions. 
 Lastly, they filled the existing vacancies in the Board 
 of TnJ-SieeaJjy the, appointment of a number of resi- 
 dent practitioners, most of whom had been active in 
 furthering the views of the medical society. 
 
 These measures, it was thought, would rectify the 
 alleged faults in the administration of the College, and 
 restore peace by removing the causes of complaint. 
 But this proved a delusive expectation. The antagon- 
 ism of individuals, already somewhat pronounced, was 
 rather increased than diminished by bringing them in 
 contact with each other ; and it was soon apparent 
 that the discord had only been transferred from the 
 outside to the inside of the college organization. 
 Previously, the contest was between the medical 
 society and the professors ; now it was between the 
 professors and the trustees. The professors, who 
 were no longer a majority of the Board, found them- 
 selves associated in council with their former oppo- 
 nents; and the newly appointed members believed that 
 the needed reforms had been only half accomplished. 
 Before long this division of sentiment became matter 
 of public notoriety. It found expression in the printed 
 notices and circulars of the College, and it was 
 brought to the attention of the Regents in repeated 
 memorials, reports and protests from both sides. The 
 Regents, instead of being discouraged by the ap- 
 parent failure of their efforts, were again ready to 
 give the subject patient consideration. It is evident, 
 from their proceedings, that they felt a deep interest 
 4 
 
50 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 in the welfare of the College, and spared no pains to 
 compose its difficulties. In April, 1825, they ap- 
 pointed a committee "to visit the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons in the city of New York, to the 
 end that the matters in controversy between the trus- 
 tees and professors thereof, and the affairs of said 
 College generally, may be more fully investigated." 
 
 The members of this committee performed their 
 duty with unwearied fidelity. They_visited the Col- 
 lege in the summer vacation, and invited the trustees 
 and professors to meet with them for a free inter- 
 change of views, continuing the sessions daily for an 
 entire week ; and they_embodied the result in a re- 
 port to the Regents covering fifty-four manuscript 
 pages. 
 
 The report declares that "it is due to the profes- 
 sors and trustees to say that, however much they dif- 
 fer from each other in the arguments urged or in the 
 conclusions drawn from the facts inquired after, yet in 
 the whole course of the business the conduct of each 
 was characterized by an openness of communication 
 and an integrity of manner which gave assurance of 
 the fairness of the motives of each ; and that their 
 conclusions, maintained oftentimes with vehement 
 warmth, were urged from a conscientious belief in 
 their correctness, and that they were essential to the 
 welfare and advancement of the College." The com- 
 mittee found the most damaging of the accusations 
 to be unsustained ; and they relieved the professors 
 from any serious imputation on their personal integ- 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 5 1 
 
 rity. The existence of either partiahty or oppression 
 in the examination of candidates appeared to be an 
 improbable inference ; and there was no suspicion of 
 misappHcation or maladministration of the college 
 funds. But the controversy had nevertheless de- 
 stroyed^ that " union of sentiment and concert of ac- 
 tion " which ought to exist between professors and 
 trustees ; and it had assumed a form which would 
 hardly admit of cordial reconciliation. It appears 
 that, in the minds of the committee, this unfortunate 
 discordance was due in great measure to the existence 
 of " professional rivalries ; " and they were of opinion 
 that it couJd_only be cured by so changing the mem- 
 bership of-the -Board of Trustees that it should no 
 longer consist wholly of medical practitioners. 
 
 The Regents adopted this recommendation ; and 
 at their next meeting an ordinance was passed in the 
 following terms : 
 
 "Be it therefore ordained by the Regents of the 
 University of the State of New York, that all vacan- 
 cies now existing, or which shall hereafter happen, in 
 the board of trustees of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons in the city of New York, shall be filled by 
 the appointment thereto of persons who are not of the 
 medical profession ; until the number of such persons, 
 so to be appointed, shall constitute at least thirteen of 
 said board." 
 
 This provision has remained a fundamental part 
 of the college organization from January, 1826, to the 
 present day. The wisdom of its framers has been 
 
52 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 justified by the experience of many years ; during 
 which time no serious effervescence has occurred, Hke 
 that which formerly endangered the prosperity of the 
 institution. The government of the College preserves 
 its professional character through the medical mem- 
 bers of the Board of Trustees ; and it has the aid and 
 counsel of capable men in other walks of life, who can 
 p-ive to the Colleo-e the benefit of their varied informa- 
 tion, and who are free from participation or interest in 
 the rivalries of medical ambition. For_jKU)xe thanLiLalf 
 a century_t he pra ctical operation of this plan has 
 answered all reasonable expectations. 
 
 Nevertheless, the pacification of the College was 
 not accomplished without a further struggle. The 
 faculty at this time was considerably smaller than 
 when it received the accession of professors from Co- 
 lumbia College. Resignations, removals, and deaths 
 had reduced its number to six ; but these embraced 
 the most important and influential of its members. 
 In the course of the controversy they had demand- 
 ed, as an essential measure for the preservation 
 of the College, the entire renovation of the Board of 
 Trustees, by the removal of all its members and their 
 replacement by non-medical men. They were not 
 satisfied with the gradual and partial change adopted 
 by the Regents ; and they intimated plainly that they 
 could not retain their positions unless it were made 
 complete. But the committee of investigation had 
 acquitted the trustees, as well as the professors, of 
 culpable malfeasance ; and reported that, in their 
 
BARCLAY STREET. 53 
 
 opinion, "if the Regents possess the power, it ought 
 not to be exercised to remove all or any of the trus- 
 tees." The professors still hoped to accomplish their 
 object by carrying it before the legislature. But this 
 also proved a failure ; and when the question was 
 finally decided against them, they sent to the Board 
 of Regents their formal resignations, April nth, 1826. 
 
 This resignation, however, was by no means a re- 
 tirement from the field ; it was only a change of base 
 for future operations. The men who had been promi- 
 nent and successful teachers for so many years could 
 not be expected to surrender their occupation as well 
 as their appointments. They believed that they had 
 given to the College as much as the College had 
 conferred upon them ; and that they might carry with 
 them elsewhere the prestige of their undisputed abil- 
 ity. They determined to organize at once a new 
 medical school, which should be the rival of the old 
 one, and in which they could exercise their functions 
 as professors, unimpeded by the control of a hostile 
 authority. For this purpose they obtained the assent 
 of Rutgers College, in New Jersey, to the formation 
 of a medical department officially connected with that 
 institution. They fitted up, at their own expense, a 
 building in Duane street ; where, in the autumn of 
 the same year, they inaugurated their course of in- 
 struction under the name of the Rutgers Medical 
 College. 
 
 But the new enterprise, undertaken with such per- 
 sistent energy, failed to meet with the desired sue-- 
 
54 THE COLLEGE LN BARCLAY STREET. 
 
 cess. The resignation of professors from a medical 
 school, whatever their superiority of talent, does not 
 always result in its injury or downfall. It is apt to 
 turn out that there are others who are able to fill the 
 chairs they have left, and who can still maintain the 
 credit and prosperity of the institution. That is what 
 happened in the present case. The Regents of the 
 University, at a special meeting in July, 1826, ap- 
 pointed for the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 a new corps of professors, who long held their places 
 with distinguished honor, and of whom three became 
 afterward presidents of the institution. The Rutgers 
 Medical College had an existence of only four annual 
 sessions. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 REORGANIZATION OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 ITS DIFFICULTIES, PERSEVERANCE AND SUCCESS. 
 
 1826-1837. 
 
 The constitution of the faculty under the new or- 
 ganization was as follows : 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1 826. 
 
 John Watts, M.D., President. 
 
 John Augustine Smith, M.D., Professor of Anatomy 
 and Physiology. 
 
 James F. Dana, M.D., Professor of Chemistry. 
 
 John B. Beck, M.D., Professor of Botany and Materia 
 Medica. 
 
 Alexander H. Stevens, M.D., Professor of the Prin- 
 ciples and Practice of Surgery. 
 
 Edward Delafield, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics 
 and the Diseases of Women and Children. 
 
 Joseph M. Smith, M.D., Professor of the Theory and 
 Practice of Physic and Clinical Medicine. 
 
 The fourth president of the College, Dr. John 
 Watts, was a practitioner of eminence, visiting phy- 
 sician to the New York Hospital, and consulting 
 
56 REORGANIZATION 
 
 physician to the New York Dispensary and the Ly- 
 ing-in Asylum. At the time of assuming the presid- 
 ency he was forty years of age, and in the full exer- 
 cise of his professional activity. He was already a 
 member of the Board of Trustees, to which he had 
 been appointed in 1820, as one of the representatives of 
 the County Medical Society in the management of the 
 College. He was thus personally familiar with the re- 
 cent history of the institution ; and his general reputa- 
 tion for sagacity and integrity, as well as his ac- 
 knowledged professional attainments, enabled him to 
 contribute in great measure to the restoration of its 
 prosperity. He continued to serve as presiding officer 
 until his death in 1831. 
 
 Of the professors appointed in 1826, several had 
 already some experience in teaching. Dr. John Au- 
 gustin Smith, formerly the professor of anatomy and 
 surgery, had resigned his chair in 18 14 and removed 
 to Virginia, where he became the president of William 
 and Mary College, his alma mater. On the reorgan- 
 ization of the College of Physicians and Surgeons he 
 returned to New York and resumed his connection 
 with the institution, as professor of anatomy and 
 physiology. Dr. Dana, the professor of chemistry, 
 had served with credit for several years in the same 
 capacity in Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. 
 Dr. Stevens had been for nearly ten years visiting 
 surgeon to the New York Hospital, where he was 
 well known for his success as a clinical lecturer, both 
 at the bedside and in the amphitheatre ; and his pri- 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 57 
 
 vate office was frequented by an unusually large num- 
 ber of pupils. Dr. Delafield was surgeon to the New 
 York Eye Infirmary, which had been for several years 
 in operation. Dr. Joseph M. Smith had attracted at- 
 tention as a writer and reviewer ; and Dr. Beck was 
 chief editor of the New York Medical and Physical 
 Journal, then in the fifth year of its existence. Three 
 of the faculty were graduates of the College ; and 
 with the exception of Dr. Watts and Dr. John Au- 
 gustine Smith, none of them had reached the age of 
 forty years. But they were by no means untried ; and 
 the promises which they had already given, for charac- 
 ter and ability, were afterward abundantly realized. 
 
 For some years subsequent to its reorganization 
 the College was beset with continuous and harassing 
 difficulties. It had experienced a revolution which re- 
 stored its internal harmony, but at dangerous cost of 
 time and means. There were still many obstacles in 
 the way of its success. Its resources were at a very 
 low ebb. In August, 1826, a committee was ap- 
 pointed by the Trustees to make an inventory of the 
 college property, to consider all matters relating to 
 the interests of the institution, and to devise measures 
 for its relief It appears from their report that the 
 property of the College then consisted of little more 
 than its land and building in Barclay street, and that 
 there were against it outstanding claims, mainly from 
 the former professors, covering nearly the whole of 
 this value ; so that if these claims were to be allowed 
 and satisfied, even without a forced sale of the prop- 
 
58 REOR GANIZA TION 
 
 erty, there would remain in the hands of the College 
 "not more than $4,570." The building, moreover, 
 was in bad condition. The committee found the 
 "seats and furniture of the lecture rooms very much 
 out of repair ; " the anatomical museum " almost 
 empty ; " the " shelves and cases of the professor of 
 chemistry empty ; " some of the fixtures belonging 
 to the same department " taken down and carried 
 away;" and the College generally presenting the ap- 
 pearance of a " city sacked and deserted by a ruthless 
 enemy." There was left in its possession but a slen- 
 der remnant of material and apparatus for teaching 
 purposes ; a deficiency which could only be supplied 
 by the voluntary exertion of its friends. 
 
 Beside these sources of anxiety in the internal 
 affairs of the College, there were others equally threat- 
 ening without. The retirement of the former faculty, 
 and the organization of a new medical school under 
 their direction, not only created an earnest and able 
 rivalry against the college ; it also established a strong 
 partisan opposition between the adherents of the two 
 institutions ; and this extended so far as to enlist, in 
 favor of one and against the other, nearly every medi- 
 cal man in the city and not a few in other parts of the 
 State. The traces of this feeling, in the records of 
 the College and in the medical literature of the day, 
 are sufficient to show that it gave rise to much differ- 
 ence of opinion and hostile criticism on both sides. 
 
 But the new professors were equal to the emer- 
 gency. They made every effort to provide for the 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 59 
 
 wants of the College and to restore its efficiency. 
 The important anatomical collection belonging to the 
 former professor, which had been sold and removed 
 from the building, was purchased by a friend of the 
 institution, and by a " liberal and spirited arrange- 
 ment" between the purchaser and the professors was 
 returned to the museum of the College. Its shelves 
 were also replenished from the private collections of 
 Dr. Stevens and Dr. Delafield, with further contribu- 
 tions from other similar sources. The New York Eye 
 Infirmary was thrown open for clinical instruction ; and 
 a special course of lectures on diseases of the eye was 
 given by Dr. Delafield, in addition to those of his ob- 
 stetrical chair. By persevering attention to the duties 
 of their professorships, the members of the faculty 
 demonstrated their ability to maintain their position 
 as teachers, and to meet with success the competition 
 of their elders and predecessors. 
 
 At the first session of the College after its reor- 
 ganization the number of students in attendance was 
 reduced to ninety. But it soon began to increase, and 
 in five or six years it again reached nearly its former 
 standard. The " Rutgers Medical College," estab- 
 lished at first under the authority of Rutgers College, 
 New Jersey, afterward transferred its allegiance to 
 Geneva College, in the State of New York. But it 
 failed to obtain, under either of these connections, the 
 requisite legal sanction for its diplomas ; and the at- 
 tempt was finally abandoned. About the same time 
 the pecuniary claims against the College of Physicians 
 
6o REOR GANIZA TION 
 
 and Surgeons, which had been pressed with much 
 urgency by suits at law, were adjudged and settled on 
 a more favorable basis than had been anticipated.* 
 The College was thus relieved from the most vexa- 
 tious of its financial embarrassments, and freed from 
 the annoyance of professional opposition. Its vitality 
 had been tested and strengthened by the trials it en- 
 dured, and it gained at last the permanent respect of 
 its opponents as well as its friends. 
 
 All this time a strict economy was required and 
 practised, to maintain the safety and independence of 
 the institution. The unexpired lease of the premises 
 on Park Place, in the rear of the College, was sold ; 
 the College retaining for its accommodation only the 
 " conveniences for a sink." All subscriptions to for- 
 eign and domestic periodicals, and all purchases of 
 books, were discontinued. Various perquisites and 
 commissions, formerly allowed to the registrar, treas- 
 urer, librarian and president, were abolished ; these 
 officers thereafter performing their duties gratuitously. 
 The graduation fees, previously divided among the 
 faculty, were assigned to the general income of the 
 College ; and for two years a tenth part of the lecture 
 fees of each professor was appropriated to a fund for 
 reducing the indebtedness of the institution. By these 
 means the College was gradually placed in a position 
 of comparative security, and enabled to provide for its 
 most important liabilities. 
 
 * These claims were originally for $20,478. They were settled, ac- 
 cording to a judgment rendered in 1830, for $13,986. 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 6 1 
 
 Among the active members of the Board of Trus- 
 tees, who aided in sustaining the College during this 
 period of contest and difficulty, were Dr. John Kear- 
 ny Rodgers, the eminent surgeon and accomplished 
 anatomist, who was visiting surgeon to both the New 
 York Hospital and the New York Eye Infirmary; Dr. 
 John D. Jaques, the faithful and efficient treasurer of 
 the College since 1811, who continued to perform the 
 duties of that important office, without compensation, 
 till 1838; Dr. Nicoll H. Dering, the assiduous regis- 
 trar, a graduate of the class of 181 7; Drs. William 
 Hamersley and Francis U. yoh7isto7z, both physicians 
 to the New York Hospital ; Drs. Samuel Borrowe 
 and John C. Ckeesman, surgeons to the same institu- 
 tion ; Mr. James A. Ham-ilton, a son of Alexander 
 Hamilton ; the Hon. Elisha W. King ; the Hon. 
 George W. Bruen ', the Hon. James Campbell; the 
 Hon. Stephen Allen, who had been Mayor of the city 
 in 1821, 1822 and 1823; Mr. Charles G. Troup; and 
 Mr. Samuel Boyd. Of the non-medical trustees 
 above mentioned, two were merchants and the rest 
 members of the legal profession. 
 
 Meanwhile, some changes occurred in the faculty. 
 The first was due to the death of Dr. Dana, the pro- 
 fessor of chemistry, in 1827, within a year after his 
 appointment, He was considered a man of great 
 promise, and was universally regretted by his pupils 
 and his colleagues. His successor in the chemical 
 chair was Dr. John Torrey, a graduate of the class 
 
6 2 REOR GANIZA TION 
 
 of 1818, who had been for three years professor of 
 chemistry, geology and mineralogy in the United 
 States Military Academy at West Point. He at once 
 entered on his duties in the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons, where he remained for many years, acquir- 
 ing a wide reputation both as chemist and botanist, 
 and contributing much to the scientific repute of the 
 institution. In compliance with the express desire 
 of himself and Dr. Beck, the department of botany 
 was transferred to Dr. Torrey and that of medical 
 jurisprudence to Dr. Beck. By this exchange each 
 professor was placed in charge of the subject most 
 adapted to his taste and acquirements. 
 
 Subsequently, Dr. Valentine Mott again became 
 professor in the College. His increasing reputation 
 and success as an operator made him a desirable ac- 
 quisition for the corps of teachers ; and on his part 
 the disposition to rejoin the College was not wanting. 
 For the purpose of carrying out this design a new 
 chair was established in 183 1, to which Dr. Mott was 
 appointed, as professor of " Operative Surgery and 
 Surgical and Pathological Anatomy." At the solici- 
 tation of the faculty he was also associated with Dr. 
 Stevens in the clinical teaching of surgery at the New 
 York Hospital. He continued to occupy this position 
 for nearly four years, when he was compelled to sus- 
 pend professional work and to undertake a European 
 tour for the benefit of his health. Owing to his pro- 
 lono-ed absence, the chair which had been created for 
 him was abolished in 1837; and after his return he 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 63 
 
 received the complimentary appointment of Professor 
 Emeritus. 
 
 In 1834 the chair of anatomy and physiology, held 
 by Dr. John Augustine Smith, was divided ; Dr. 
 Smith remaining professor of physiology, and Dr. 
 J ohn R. Rhinelander , a graduate of the class of 
 1824, becoming professor of anatomy. He had al- 
 ready served in the College for five years as Dem- 
 onstrator of anatomy ; and on assuming the profes- 
 sorship he deposited in the college museum a large 
 collection of specimens prepared by himself. 
 
 On the death of the president, Dr. John Watts, in 
 183 1, his place was filled by the appointment of Dr. 
 John Augustine Smith. The vice president was 
 Dr. Thomas Cock, who had been the incumbent of 
 that office since 1827. 
 
 The next event of importance was in 1837, when 
 the College was removed to Crosby street, about 
 one mile farther u^p town. For some years the old 
 building had been very inadequate in its accommoda- 
 tions ; beside which the movement of population away 
 from its vicinity, and the increase of business estab- 
 lishments near by, made it evident that the College 
 must soon need a more appropriate location. The 
 matter was discussed in the Board of Trustees as 
 early as 1834; and in the following year a committee 
 was appointed to "■ ascertain whether a new site could 
 be obtained for the College and upon what terms," 
 as well as to " procure plans and estimates of the 
 
64 REOR GANIZA TION 
 
 expense attending the erection of proper buildings." 
 Soon afterward the committee reported that a piece 
 of property in Crosby street, belonging to the New 
 York High School Society, was for sale ; and that, 
 with certain alterations, the building might be made 
 serviceable for the purposes of the College. The lots 
 were on the east side of the street, having a frontage 
 of seventy-two feet and a depth of one hundred feet ; 
 the building being of considerably smaller dimensions. 
 In accordance with the recommendation of the com- 
 mittee, the property was purchased, in May, 1835, for 
 $18,500; but it was subject to an unexpired lease, 
 and consequently did not come into the possession 
 of the College until two years later. As early as pos- 
 sible thereafter plans for the reconstruction of the 
 building were submitted to the Board of Trustees and 
 approved by them. The work was commenced on the 
 first of June and completed by the first of November ; 
 and the building was inaugurated at the opening of 
 the thirty-first session, November 6th, 1837. 
 
 The removal of the College was accomplished at a 
 time very unfavorable for such an enterprise. The 
 disastrous fire in the winter of 1835-36, which de- 
 stroyed thirteen acres of the most important business 
 structures in the lower part of the city and caused a 
 general collapse of the insurance companies, was fol- 
 lowed by the scarcity and distress of the succeeding 
 winter, and lastly by the financial revulsion of 1837, 
 when all the banks in the United States suspended 
 payment for a year. These misfortunes impeded, for 
 
OF THE COLLEGE. 65 
 
 the time being, every kind of business operation. It 
 was difficult to find a purchaser for the college prop- 
 erty in Barclay street ; and when finally sold, it 
 brought only $31,000. Of this sum, nearly one half 
 was covered by a mortgage which had been placed 
 on the property, to meet the judgment rendered 
 against the institution in 1830; and there had been, 
 for the past two years, a diminution in the receipts 
 of the College, owing to the general disturbance and 
 uncertainty in financial affairs. 
 
 The entire cost of reconstructing and furnishing 
 the new building was $14,370. But the funds re- 
 maining in the hands of the trustees, after paying 
 for the original property, amounted to less than 
 $10,000. This left a deficit of $4,450, which had to 
 be supplied by a loan from the individual professors ; 
 the largest share of this financial burden being borne 
 by Dr. John Augustine Smith. All things considered, 
 it appeared to the trustees a matter of congratulation 
 that " notwithstanding the pressure of the times " the 
 work had been successfully completed according to 
 the original design. 
 
 The new building was regarded as a great improve- 
 ment on the former structure ; " imposing in its ap- 
 pearance, ample in its dimensions, and commodious 
 in its arrangements." In the last respect especially it 
 was confidently declared to be "unsurpassed by any 
 similar establishment in the Union." 
 
 The edifice was of brick, three stories high, with a 
 lecture room on each floor ; sixty-five feet wide in 
 5 
 
66 
 
 REOR GANIZA TION 
 
 front and seventy-five feet in depth, with an open pas- 
 sage way from front to rear along the north side. 
 The first fioor, nearly level with the street, contained 
 the chemical lecture room, calculated for an audience 
 of three hundred, with the professor's laboratory and 
 apparatus rooms in the rear. On the second fioor 
 
 ~~_r- 
 
 TTi-T 
 
 \ 15. L' ir' II |i 
 
 The College Building in Crosby Street. 
 
 1837-1856. 
 
 From the College Circular for 1837. 
 
 was the College Hall, or principal lecture room, used 
 also for Introductory and Commencement exercises ; 
 a cabinet of Materia Medica ; and private rooms. 
 The third floor was occupied by the amphitheatre, the 
 museum, private rooms, and the general dissecting- 
 room. The amphitheatre, the lecture rooms, and the 
 dissecting room were warmed by stoves, the smaller 
 apartments by open fire places. All were lighted 
 with gas and supplied, after a few years, with Croton 
 
OF THE COLLEGE, 6y 
 
 water ; neither of which conveniences had existed in 
 the Barclay street building. In 1847 ^^ additional 
 story was constructed on the rear, giving a larger 
 dissecting room and more space on the third floor for 
 other purposes. The building was known as No. 67 
 Crosby street, and was occupied by the College for a 
 little over eighteen years. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN CROSBY STREET. 
 
 ERA OF IMPROVEMENT. 
 
 1837-1856. 
 
 About the time of the removal of the College to 
 Crosby street the faculty received a number of impor- 
 tant accessions. In 1837 Dr. Stevens resigned the 
 professorship of surgery, which he had held with dis- 
 tinguished ability for eleven years, and was followed 
 by Dr. Alban G. Smith, previously professor of sur- 
 gery in the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Smith 
 however lectured for only two sessions. The chair 
 was then filled by Dr. Willard Parker, who had been 
 for four years professor of surgery in the Medical Col- 
 leo-e of Cincinnati. On receiving his appointment in 
 1840, Dr. Parker removed to New York, where he at 
 once gave evidence of superior talent, both as pro- 
 fessor and practitioner. 
 
 In 1839, the chair of anatomy having been vacated 
 
 by the resignation of Dr. Rhinelander, Dr. Robert 
 
 Watts was made professor in that department. He 
 
 was a nephew of the former president of the College, 
 
 Dr. John Watts, and a graduate in the class of 1836. 
 
THE COLLEGE IN CROSBY STREET. 69 
 
 At the time of his appointment he was twenty-seven 
 years of age, and had already taught anatomy in the 
 medical schools of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and 
 Woodstock, Vermont. His untiring industry and ac- 
 curate information made him a valuable addition to 
 the faculty and a marked favorite with the students of 
 the College. 
 
 Nearly at the same time Dr. Delafield retired from 
 the chair of obstetrics, and in 1841 this professorship 
 was filled by the appointment of Dr. Chandler R. 
 Gilman, a well-known practitioner in the city, who 
 had officiated as lecturer on obstetrics for the preced- 
 ing session. 
 
 The fifth president of the College, Dr. John Au- 
 gustine Smith, is an interesting character in the his- 
 tory of the institution from his long and varied con- 
 nection with its affairs. He was identified with its 
 original organization, having taken part in the first 
 session as lecturer on anatomy, and receiving immedi- 
 ately afterward the appointment of professor of anat- 
 omy and surgery. He continued in this chair until 
 18 14, when he removed to Virginia, his former home, 
 to accept the presidency of William and Mary College 
 in that State ; returning after an interval of twelve 
 years, to resume his connection with the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, in 1826, as professor of 
 anatomy and physiology. After becoming president 
 in 1 83 1, he continued to lecture on anatomy and phy- 
 siology until the chair was divided in 1834, and subse- 
 quently on physiology until 1843 ; thus combining for 
 
70 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 a period of twelve years the duties of president and 
 professor. 
 
 His character was marked by an amiabiHty of dis- 
 position and a courtesy of manner which survived all 
 the trials and difficulties of his administration. These 
 qualities were especially noticeable in his relations 
 with Dr. Wright Post, who was attached to the chair 
 of anatomy in 1814 as joint professor; Dr. Smith leav- 
 ing the College soon afterward, and in turn replacing 
 Dr. Post at its reorganization in 1826. Notwithstand- 
 ing these professional complications, Dr. Smith was 
 selected by the County Medical Society to prepare the 
 obituary memoir of Dr. Post in 1828. In this address 
 he refers to their intercourse as follows : 
 
 "A good understanding always existed between 
 Dr. Post and myself. At first in opposition, then joint 
 professors, and lastly independent friends ; no hostile 
 feeling was at any time manifested with regard to each 
 other, nor did any, I am persuaded, ever exist. And 
 now it has fallen to my lot to hold up, however feebly, 
 to the just admiration of his fellow citizens the only 
 man with whom, in the whole course of my life, I have 
 come into any sort of collision, whose talents and sta- 
 tion could for a moment induce me to consider him as 
 a rival." 
 
 Dr. Smith was equally good-tempered in replying 
 to criticisms on himself. He was thought by some to 
 be more versed in philosophic generalities than in the 
 exact details of specific information. Nevertheless, in 
 an introductory lecture delivered in 1827 he expressed 
 
CROSBY STREET. J I 
 
 a strong disapproval of "medical theorists ;" and when 
 charged with inconsistency in this respect, he replied 
 as follows : 
 
 " With these remarks the author takes leave of 
 medical theorists ; adding however that his friends 
 have suggested to him that he himself, from his prop- 
 ensity to generalize, is obnoxious to his own censures. 
 If such be the fact, it only adds one to the long list of 
 those whose precepts are better than their example ; 
 and, he sincerely hopes that his brethren will profit 
 by what is right, while, more fortunate than himself, 
 they eschew what is wrong." 
 
 Dr. Smith was a man of scholarly attainments, 
 somewhat given to metaphysical discussion, but a 
 polished writer and an agreeable and instructive lec- 
 turer. Though not distinguished for any remarkable 
 traits of scientific originality, he seems to , have had 
 much influence with his associates, and to have con- 
 ducted the affairs of the College with judgment and 
 success. He resigned the presidency in 1843, when 
 Dr. Stevens was appointed in his place. At that time 
 the department of physiology was again attached to 
 the chair of anatomy. 
 
 In consequence of these changes the faculty of the 
 College, soon after its establishment in Crosby street, 
 became virtually a new one, with the following organ- 
 ization : 
 
72 . THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1 843. 
 
 Alexander H. Stevens, M.D., President. 
 
 Joseph M. Smith, M.D., Professor of the Theory and 
 
 Practice of Medicine and Clinical Medicine. 
 John B. Beck, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica 
 
 and Medical ftirisprudejtce. 
 John Torrey, M.D., Professor of Chemistry and 
 
 Botany. 
 Robert Watts, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and 
 
 Physiology. 
 Willard Parker, M.D., Professor of the Principles 
 
 and Practice of Surgery. 
 Chandler R. Gilman, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics 
 
 and the Diseases of Women and Children. 
 
 The period from 1837 to 1856, during which the 
 College remained in Crosby street, was one of sub- 
 stantial progress in reputation and prosperity. Its 
 average attendance of students increased from one 
 hundred and forty, as in the preceding ten years, to 
 about two hundred. The traces of antagonism in 
 various quarters, the legacy of its former turmoils and 
 dissensions, disappeared before the growing popular- 
 ity of its teachers and the united support of its officers 
 and trustees. This opened for the College a new 
 prospect and placed it in a different position. Here- 
 tofore its energies had been consumed in an unavoid- 
 able conflict, with difficulties. Now they were em- 
 ployed to enlarge its resources and increase its use- 
 fulness. 
 
CROSBY STREET. y$ 
 
 An important innovation introduced at this time 
 was a change in the mode of selecting and appointing 
 professors. In 1837 the plan was inaugurated of pro- 
 viding for a vacant professorship by the appointment 
 of a "Lecturer," who should perform the duties of the 
 chair during one session before he could be eligible as 
 professor. From the earlier years of the College it 
 had been sometimes the practice for the Trustees to 
 appoint lecturers ; but this was only as a temporary 
 expedient, to fill a vacancy while awaiting the action 
 of the Regents, or to provide for lectures during the 
 absence or disability of a professor. It was now 
 adopted as a rule, that no one should be appointed 
 to a professorship until he had served as lecturer to 
 the satisfaction of his colleagues. Every candidate 
 was thus put to a preliminary test ; and the College 
 was relieved from the danger of hasty or injudicious 
 appointments. After a few years' trial the advantages 
 of this method were so obvious that it received the 
 approval of all and became the established policy of 
 the institution. It has been retained without inter- 
 ruption to the present day. 
 
 Furthermore, the instruction given in the regular 
 term was supplemented by courses of Spring and 
 Fall lectures. Soon after the organization of the 
 College there had been a course of lectures in April, 
 May, and June, devoted to zoology, botany, mineral- 
 ogy, and chemistry. But this subsequently fell into 
 disuse. At first, two of the professors took part in 
 it, afterward only one; and since 18 17 it had been 
 
74 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 wholly discontinued. It was now revived, on a larger 
 scale and with a different object ; namely, to give in- 
 struction on special subjects, mainly of a practical 
 nature, which could not be sufficiently treated during 
 the regular session. In 1841 a Spring course was 
 inaugurated, with two or three lectures a day from 
 March till June. It was conducted by a corps of 
 eight lecturers, including professors Parker, Watts, 
 and Oilman, as representing the faculty ; Dr. Ouack- 
 enboss, the demonstrator of anatomy ; and four other 
 physicians connected with various medical institutions 
 in the city. The programme for this course was as 
 follows : 
 
 SPRING COURSE OF LECTURES FOR 1 84 I . 
 
 Operative Surgery Dr. Willard Parker. 
 
 Surgical Anatomy Dr. Robert Watts. 
 
 Pathology of the Uterus. .Dr. Chandler R. Oilman. 
 
 The Nervous System Dr. James Ouackenboss. 
 
 Diseases of the Eye Dr. Oeorge Wilkes. 
 
 Pathology of the Thorax .Dr. Alonzo Clark. 
 Club feet and kindred de- 
 formities Dr. William Detmold. 
 
 Pathology of the Kidney . . Dr. William C. Roberts. 
 
 In the Fall of the same year a " preliminary 
 course " was established, continuing through Octo- 
 ber to the opening of the regular term in November. 
 This course was conducted wholly by members of the 
 faculty, and comprised the following subjects : 
 
CROSBY STREET. 75 
 
 PRELIMINARY P^ALL COURSE FOR 1 84 1 . 
 
 Medical Botany by Dr. 1'orrey. 
 
 Comparative Osteology " Dr. Watts. 
 
 Pathology of the Ear " Dr. Parker. 
 
 Monstrosities " Dr. Oilman. 
 
 The Spring and Fall lectures were soon found to 
 be valuable additions to the regular course. They 
 were not obligatory upon the students as a requisite 
 for graduation ; but to all who could avail themselves 
 of the privilege they afforded increased opportunities 
 for acquiring information. They were continued and 
 assiduously sustained by the faculty. The announce- 
 ment for 1844 states that the Fall course is to be en- 
 larged, to include lectures by "all the professors," 
 making the entire session "virtually of five months' 
 duration ; " the customary period of four months, re- 
 quired by law, being, in the opinion of the faculty, 
 " too short even for the regular course, and much too 
 short to allow them to enter into specialities." 
 
 Three years later the regular course was extended 
 to four months and a half, beginning in the middle of 
 October ; and the preliminary course was placed at 
 an earlier date, beginning in September. 
 
 The Spring course was also enlarged by securing 
 the cooperation of various medical men who were 
 known as experts on special subjects ; becoming in 
 this way a "valuable and practical course on spe- 
 cialities." Beside the topics already enumerated, it 
 included, in the following years, such subjects as Poi- 
 
^(i THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 sons, Diseases of the Skin, Comparative Anatomy, 
 Pathology of the Intestines, Dislocations and Fract- 
 ures, Uterine Hemorrhages, the Physiology of Gene- 
 ration, Pathology of the Urine, and Diseases of In- 
 fancy. These lectures were appreciated by graduates 
 as well as by students ; and they were also useful by 
 bringing into notice the acquirements and talent of 
 younger members of the profession in various de- 
 partments of practical or scientific medicine. 
 
 At the same time the faculty began to pay 
 greater attention than before to material zlhcstration 
 as a means of instruction. In the announcement for 
 1837, especial stress is laid on the increased facilities 
 in the new building for practical anatomy, and on 
 those for illustration in various departments by speci- 
 mens, drawings, models, wax preparations, and plas- 
 ter casts. The anatomical specimens belonging to 
 the former professor in this department were pur- 
 chased and secured for the benefit of the College. 
 From time to time there were other contributions 
 by former graduates. In 1845 the museum was en- 
 riched by the collection of Dr. J. Kearny Rodgers, 
 an old friend and trustee of the institution ; and in 
 the same year professor John B. Beck presented his 
 cabinet of materia medica, containing nearly six hun- 
 dred specimens. On all sides a desire was mani- 
 fested to enlarge the means of instruction beyond 
 those of a strictly didactic course. The announce- 
 ment for 1850 declares that "the great object of the 
 faculty is to make the courses of instruction as de- 
 
CROSBY STREET. J J 
 
 monstrative and practical as possible ; and in this 
 object they are warmly seconded by the Trustees 
 of the College." 
 
 One of the most important features of this policy 
 was the College Clinic, established in 1841 by the 
 sagacity and enterprise of Dr. Willard Parker, then 
 recently appointed professor of surgery. In the pre- 
 ceding year a number of private pupils had been 
 taken to the Northern Dispensary, at the intersec- 
 tion of Christopher street and Waverley Place, to 
 witness there the methods of diagnosis and treat- 
 ment. This was found so useful that soon after the 
 commencement of the session it was " thought best 
 to make the College the place for this kind of instruc- 
 tion," so that all might share in its benefits. Out- 
 door patients were accordingly brought, from the Dis- 
 pensary and elsewhere, to the College building, to 
 be examined and treated in the presence of the class. 
 
 This was the beginning of the entire system of 
 college clinics, which have since grown into such mag- 
 nitude. At first they were held once a week during 
 the session ; but they were soon increased in fre- 
 quency and continued through the intervening months. 
 In the catalogue for 1843-4 it is announced that "a 
 Clinique has been established in the College, which 
 has been in successful operation for several years, 
 under the direction of the professor of surgery. The 
 cases presented to the class embrace almost every 
 variety of minor surgery, and many of them require 
 operations which are performed before the class." . 
 
7^ THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 . . "In the course of the present session the 
 professor of obstetrics has made arrangements for a 
 cHnique to be held every Thursday, and to embrace 
 the diseases of women and children." 
 
 Under this plan the number of patients rapidly in- 
 creased, and the clinic grew in favor with both the 
 students and the profession. In 1844 it is styled the 
 " Medical and Surgical Clinique," and the encourage- 
 ment received in its support is duly acknowledged. 
 "The great number of Medical men in New York, 
 many of them connected with public institutions and 
 desirous of promoting the interest of the College, fur- 
 nishes the Clinique with an abundant supply of useful 
 and interesting cases, embracing Medical and Surgical 
 diseases ; also those of Children. These cases are 
 examined and prescribed for before the class, so that 
 each student can follow for himself the causes, symp- 
 toms, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of every 
 case." The scope of the enterprise continued to en- 
 large ; and in 1850 it had "assumed a degree of im- 
 portance that could hardly have been anticipated at 
 its origin." Subsequently there were three clinics 
 each week at the college building, throughout the 
 regular session and during the Spring and Fall 
 terms. 
 
 The advance of the College at this time, in effici- 
 ency and repute, was largely due to the unremitting 
 exertion of its professors, and their judicious employ- 
 ment of various means for its improvement. They 
 felt that the course of instruction needed a greater 
 
CROSBY STREET. 79 
 
 expenditure of time and attention on their part than 
 had yet been given to it ; and they were ready to 
 adopt new methods and measures whenever occasion 
 required. The master spirits in this movement were 
 Drs. Parker, Watts and Oilman. They were ambi- 
 tious in the pursuit of professional distinction, but with 
 no wish to revive the personal differences of former 
 times, now happily becoming obsolete; and they knew 
 how to enlist the sympathy and cooperation of others 
 in an institution intended for the benefit of all. The 
 College will always be indebted to their energy and 
 foresight for inaugurating improvements of lasting in- 
 fluence on its future welfare. 
 
 Beside these changes in the internal affairs of 
 the College, there were others, connected with the 
 general growth of the city and its institutions, which 
 aided the advancement of medical education. One of 
 the most important was the reorganization of Bellc- 
 vue Hospital. This institution was originally the city 
 almshouse, which in 1807 was located in Chambers 
 street. At that time it had no regular hospital organi- 
 zation ; but such of its inmates as required medical 
 treatment were cared for by an attending physician at 
 his stated visits. In 18 16, owing to the need of larger 
 accommodations for the poor, a new building was 
 erected on the shore of the East River, at a place 
 known as " Bellevue." This was formerly a country 
 seat belonging to Lindley Murray, the grammarian, 
 who describes it, in his Letters, as "most delightfully 
 situated," commanding an extensive view up and down 
 
8o _ THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 the river, with a fruit and flower garden, and a field in 
 the rear for pasturing cattle. After the erection on 
 this ground of the almshouse proper, one or two 
 smaller structures were added near by, for the recep- 
 tion of the sick. But with the growing demand on 
 the city charities, these accommodations also proved 
 insufficient; and in 1848 the almshouse department 
 was removed to Blackwell's Island, leaving the entire 
 establishment at Bellevue for use as a hospital. 
 
 In this way Bellevue hospital was added to the 
 medical institutions of the city. But in the following 
 year it was greatly improved through a reorganization 
 of its management under the authority of the State 
 legislature. By this law its affairs were confided to a 
 Board of Governors, who, acting in concert with the 
 medical profession, introduced into its administration 
 several much needed reforms. One of the improve- 
 ments so effected was the opening of the hospital for 
 clinical teaching. It had now become a much larger 
 establishment than before, admitting over three thou- 
 sand patients annually ; and it would consequently 
 afford, if accessible to students, much valuable oppor- 
 tunity for medical instruction. 
 
 This was accomplished during the session of 
 1849-50, through the influence of the attending phy- 
 sicians and surgeons with the Board of Governors. 
 In the "Rules and Regulations" of the Board, pub- 
 lished in 1 85 1, the admission of students was author- 
 ized in the following terms : 
 
 " In order to render the hospital, as far as it may 
 
CROSBY STREET. ■ 8 1 
 
 consist with the welfare of the patients, conducive to 
 the advancement of medical science, the physicians 
 and surgeons may provide among themselves adequate 
 and regular practical instruction, by observations ac- 
 companying operations, by clinical lectures or other- 
 wise, to the students admitted to see the practice of 
 the house, during the ordinary periods of lectures at 
 the medical institutions of the city, and longer if 
 deemed expedient." 
 
 The plan was immediately carried into effect and 
 its advantages appreciated. In the annual report of 
 the Medical Board of the hospital for 1851 it is said 
 that " clinical lectures have been given regularly at 
 the hospital during the fall and winter months, and 
 numerous surgical operations performed, which have 
 been attended by classes of medical students number- 
 ing from fifty to two hundred and fifty." Medical in- 
 struction was thus more amply provided for than at 
 any former period. The college clinics exhibited the 
 early stages or milder forms of disease ; while cases of 
 graver character or more advanced condition were to 
 be seen at the New York and Bellevue hospitals. In 
 both these institutions the College was represented ; 
 at the New York hospital by Dr. Joseph M. Smith, 
 attending physician, and at Bellevue by Dr. Parker, 
 attending surgeon, and Drs. Oilman and Clark, attend- 
 ing physicians. 
 
 Another noteworthy event was the legalization of 
 practical a7iatomy by act of the legislature in 1854. 
 This had long been an object of earnest desire with all 
 
82 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 interested in medical education. The only sources ot 
 supply for anatomical material under existing- laws, in 
 the State of New York, were the unclaimed bodies of 
 convicts dying in the State prisons at Sing Sing and 
 Auburn ; and these were entirely inadequate for the 
 purposes required. In 1843 and 1844 attempts were 
 made to remedy the evil by the introduction of a bill 
 authorizing the use of unclaimed bodies from all the 
 public penal and charitable institutions of the State. 
 The county medical societies of Erie and Onondaga 
 officially addressed the State Medical Society, asking 
 its cooperation in favor of the proposed law. But the 
 committee of the State Society, to which the matter 
 was referred, reported that " in view of the present 
 state of the public mind," it would be inexpedient to 
 take action at that time ; and the subject was accord- 
 ingly dropped. It was taken up afresh in 1853, when 
 a similar bill was framed and advocated by a few med- 
 ical men who were members of the legislature. Dr. 
 Alonzo Clark, then president of the State Medical 
 Society, in his anniversary address delivered before 
 the society and the legislature in joint session, strongly 
 urged its adoption, using every effort to demonstrate 
 its propriety and to dissipate the prejudice against it. 
 He was so nearly successful that the bill passed the 
 Assembly, but was unexpectedly lost in the Senate. 
 
 In the following year the attempt was again re- 
 newed. The bill was placed in the hands of the Hon. 
 Frederick A. Conkling, who introduced and supported 
 it in the legislature with much earnestness and discre- 
 
CROSBY STREET. 83 
 
 tion. Dr. Parker, with other medical men from New 
 York, spent much time at Albany, explaining its object 
 and justifying its provisions to the members of the 
 legislature. At the instance of the Queen's county 
 medical society, the State society adopted resolutions 
 approving the bill and recommending its passage ; 
 and Dr. Sprague, the president of the State society 
 for that year, made a strong appeal in its behalf. 
 These combined efforts at last effected the object ; 
 and the bill entitled " An Act to promote Medical 
 Science" was passed April ist, 1854. 
 
 The good effect of this measure was at once ap- 
 parent. Teachers of anatomy were enabled to make 
 their instruction demonstrative and practical, without 
 being compelled to rely on the uncertain and illegal 
 aid of resurrectionists. The college catalogue for 
 1855 announces that the preceding session has been 
 " distinguished by a new element of success." . 
 " Thanks to the enlightened liberality of the legislature 
 who passed the Anatomical Bill, the supply of sub- 
 jects has not only been ample, but it has been obtained 
 without the difficulties and dangers of former years." 
 At that time Massachusetts was the only state already 
 provided with a general anatomical law of this kind. 
 Since then enactments similar or equivalent to that of 
 New York have been adopted in twenty-one other 
 states of the Union. 
 
 The progress of the profession during this period 
 was also marked by the formation of the pathological 
 society and the academy of medicine. The Patholog- 
 
84 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 ical Society originated in 1844 by the association of 
 twenty-three medical men, including several of the 
 professors and lecturers in the College. For some 
 months the society met at the offices of its various 
 members ; but after the first year its meetings were 
 held in the anatomical theatre of the College, where 
 o-reater facilities were afforded for the exhibition of 
 specimens and the accommodation of the audience. 
 At the end of two years its original membership had 
 more than doubled ; and since then it has continued 
 to grow in prosperity, and in the interest and useful- 
 ness of its proceedings. In 1886 it received an en- 
 dowment of Five Thousand dollars from Dr. Middleton 
 Goldsmith, of Rutland, Vermont, one of its original 
 members and a graduate of the College in the class of 
 1840, to establish, under the auspices of the society, 
 periodical lectures on subjects connected with path- 
 ology. The society now numbers over two hundred 
 members. 
 
 The New York Academy of Medicine was organ- 
 ized in 1847 for the cultivation of medical knowledge 
 by oral and written communications, and for maintain- 
 ing, by precept and example, an elevated tone of pro- 
 fessional feeling. It was intended to " represent if 
 not embrace " the great mass of regular practitioners 
 in the city. Its first president was Dr. John Stearns, 
 a graduate and former trustee of the College ; its 
 treasurer was professor Watts ; and upon its standing 
 committees were Drs. Alexander H. Stevens, Edward 
 Delafield, John B. Beck, Willard' Parker, and Joseph 
 
CROSBY STREET. 85 
 
 M. Smith. Almost immediately the academy became 
 the recognized place of discussion for prominent ques- 
 tions of medical interest, and for the presentation of 
 new views, theories or observations. It added much 
 to the opportunities for mutual criticism and improve- 
 ment, and opened for its members a new and useful 
 field of professional activity. 
 
 In all these movements to promote the interests of 
 the profession, the College had an important share. 
 Its officers and teachers were among the most active 
 in furthering every design for the advancement ot 
 medical knowledge or the welfare of medical practi- 
 tioners ; and it was always an advocate for means of 
 improvement and progress. It was beginning to re- 
 pay, after many years, the earnest devotion of its 
 founders, and the persevering efforts of its faculty, 
 friends and graduates. It was aided in its growth by 
 the increased facilities for medical instruction in the 
 city at large, to which it contributed in great measure 
 by its own exertions and influence. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 
 185I-1858. 
 
 Owing to changes by. death and resignation during 
 the stay of the College in Crosby street, the faculty 
 lost some of its most prominent members ; and the ar- 
 rangement of professorships was somewhat modified, 
 in order to supply the vacant places. 
 
 As early as 1842 the professor of materia medica. 
 Dr. John B. Beck, began to show the symptoms of 
 a deep-seated malady which greatly affected his 
 strength. For the next three years he suffered from 
 frequently recurring attacks ; until he became a con- 
 firmed invalid, able to perform his duties only by the 
 exercise of great perseverance and determination. 
 ,He was at last completely disabled by the progress of 
 his disease, which terminated fatally in 1851. 
 
 Dr. Beck was a graduate of the College in the 
 class of 18 1 7. His inaugural dissertation on Infanti- 
 cide, published the same year, was everywhere re- 
 garded as an accurate, judicious and exhaustive treat- 
 ise, showing the early bent of his talent toward medi- 
 cal jurisprudence. In 1822 he was associated with 
 Drs. Dyckman and Francis in establishing the New 
 York Medical and Physical y ournal, of which he 
 
CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 87 
 
 was for several years the chief editor. This journal 
 was very successful. It took the place of its vener- 
 able predecessor, the " Medical Repository," and 
 was continued in 1830 under the name of the 
 " New York Medical Journal." Dr. Beck devoted to 
 it much of his time and contributed many articles to 
 its pages. In 1829 he delivered at the College an in- 
 troductory lecture on the Higher Departments of Edu- 
 cation j in 1830 one on the Analysis of the Study of 
 Medicine ' and in 1839 a valedictory to the graduat- 
 ing class on the Means of Professional Eminence / all 
 showing an enlightened and hearty appreciation of the 
 dignity of medical art. In 1842 he was president of 
 the Medical Society of the State of New York, his ad- 
 dress on the occasion being a History of American 
 Medicine before the Revolution / a valuable and 
 interesting record, illustrating the early growth of 
 our medical legislation, modes of practice, hospitals, 
 medical education and medical literature. In 1849 
 he published his most important work, Essays on 
 Infant Therapeutics, which was received with great 
 favor and appeared after his death in a second edi- 
 tion, in 1855, His Lectures on Materia Medica 
 and Therapeutics were printed in 1851, under the 
 editorship of Dr. Oilman, and went through two sub- 
 sequent editions. 
 
 In his own department Dr. Beck was " impregna- 
 ble ; " his knowledge being both extensive and accu- 
 rate. As a teacher his reputation was early estab- 
 lished, and continued to increase throughout his life. 
 
88 CHANGES IN 
 
 He was most earnest and efficient in support of the 
 College during- the time of its adversity, and always 
 prompt in its defence against cavil or aggression. 
 The salient points of his character are given in a feel- 
 ing memorial, written by his friend and colleague, Dr. 
 Oilman. He combined energy of action with steadi- 
 ness of purpose ; and his clearness of perception was 
 equally remarkable in scientific and practical affairs. 
 He was uncompromising in his aversion for fraud or 
 pretension of every kind, and outspoken in the mani- 
 festation of his disapproval. His loss, both as pro- 
 fessor and associate, was deeply felt by all connected 
 with the College. 
 
 On the death of Dr. Beck his chair was filled by 
 Dr. Elisha Bartlett, a graduate in medicine of Brown 
 University, Rhode Island. He was a man of singu- 
 larly engaging manners and great facility of expres- 
 sion, both in writing and speaking. The early part of 
 his professional life was passed as a practitioner in 
 Lowell, Massachusetts, where he became universally 
 popular. In 1836 he was elected mayor of the city, 
 and afterward, for several sessions, a member of the 
 Massachusetts legislature ; in both of which positions 
 he was conspicuous for his readiness and fluency in 
 public addresses. This accomplishment, added to his 
 professional knowledge, gave him superior qualifica- 
 tions as a teacher ; and at the time of his connection 
 with the College of Physicians and Surgeons he had 
 lectured with success in five or six medical schools in 
 different parts of the country. He delivered the 
 
THE FACULTY. 89 
 
 course on Materia Medica and Medical Jurisprudence 
 for the session beginning in 185 1, and was duly ap- 
 pointed professor of these branches in 1852. 
 
 His writings gained a wide reputation for their at- 
 tractive style and the variety and abundance of their 
 information. Some were addresses on occasional 
 topics ; others, dissertations more or less philosophical 
 in character. He was the author of an introductory 
 lecture on the Objects and Nature of Medical Science, 
 Lexington,' Kentucky, 1841 ; an essay on the Philo- 
 sophy of Medical Science, Philadelphia, 1844; and -an 
 Inquiry into the Degree of Certainty in Medicine, 
 Philadelphia, 1848. The work usually considered as 
 his best was that on the History, Diagnosis and 
 Treatment of Typhoid and of Typhus Fever, Philadel- 
 phia, 1842. It was reissued in 1847, and again in 
 1852, in an enlarged form, as the History, Diagnosis 
 and Treatment of the Fevers of the United States. 
 On commencing his course at the College as professor 
 in 1852, he delivered an introductory lecture on 
 the Times, Character and Writings of Hippocrates. 
 This lecture, which was published by the class, is one 
 of his most characteristic productions ; containing the 
 evidence of much learning and research, relieved by 
 frequent touches of playful description and poetic 
 fancy. 
 
 But Dr. Bartlett was able to continue the labors of 
 his professorship for only a short time. He was 
 already suffering from a painful affection, which in- 
 creased in severity during the following year ; and in 
 
90 CHANGES IN 
 
 1853 he was compelled to relinquish active occupation. 
 In the hope that he might be restored to health and 
 usefulness, his colleagues for two years divided his 
 duties among them ; but his condition became steadily 
 worse, and in May, 1855, he transmitted his resigna- 
 tion to the authorities of the College. His death took 
 place in July of the same year. 
 
 This was the occasion of a partial redistribution of 
 subjects among the remaining professors. In 1847 
 an additional chair had been created in the College, 
 entitled the chair of " Physiology and Pathology." 
 Neither of these subjects under the arrangement then 
 existing, could be taught with sufficient completeness 
 to meet the requirements of the time. Pathology was 
 wholly unprovided for, except as each professor might 
 give it his incidental attention. Physiology was 
 hardly more than an appendage to the chair of ana- 
 tomy ; to be treated in a cursory way, by stating the 
 function of an organ after the description of its ana- 
 tomical structure. But such a combination of the two 
 most essential elementary branches was now far from 
 satisfactory ; and the professor of anatomy and physi- 
 ology could no longer perform his double duty with- 
 out slighting in some degree either one subject or the 
 other. It was deemed almost indispensable, for the 
 continued improvement of the College, that physi- 
 ology should be separated from anatomy ; and further- 
 more, that a new department should be established, 
 embracing the subjects of physiolgy and pathology. 
 
 Accordingly, on the recommendation of the faculty, 
 
THE FACULTY. 9 1 
 
 the Board of Trustees addressed a memorial to the 
 Regents of the University, in the following terms: 
 
 " The subject of physiology is now confided to the 
 professor of anatomy. It has been found, however, 
 that anatomy is required to be taught so minutely, to 
 meet the wants of the students, that it is impossible 
 for the same professor to do justice to the other 
 branch. On the other hand, the recent application of 
 improved microscopes to healthy and diseased struct- 
 ures, together with the great advances in the depart- 
 ment of animal chemistry, and the light it has shed 
 on the constitution of our bodies in health and dis- 
 ease, and upon healthy and disordered functions, 
 leave an hiatus in these departments so great that, in 
 the unanimous opinion of the Board, a new professor- 
 ship is required." 
 
 The chair of Physiology and Pathology was there- 
 fore created, and in 1847 Dr. Alonzo Clark was ap- 
 pointed Lecturer on these branches. Dr. Clark was 
 a graduate of the College in the class of 1835. While 
 still a pupil he had served as assistant in the depart- 
 ment of chemistry ; and since his graduation he had 
 been almost constantly occupied with pathology and 
 the microscopic examination of healthy and morbid 
 tissues. His known proficiency in these respects 
 made him peculiarly fitted for the new professor- 
 ship ; and he had also shown the necessary talent for 
 imparting instruction. He had lectured at the Col- 
 lege for several years in the Spring course ; and since 
 1842 he had been professor of pathology in the Berk- 
 
92 CHANGES IN 
 
 shire Medical Institution at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 
 and in the medical college at Woodstock, Vermont. 
 
 After his appointment in the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons he performed the duties of lect- 
 urer for the following session with entire success. 
 Toward the end of the term the president of the Col- 
 lege, Dr. Stevens, informed the Trustees that the 
 lectures in the new department " had been regularly 
 given, and had been listened to with great interest ; " 
 and that Dr. Clark had " fully realized the high ex- 
 pectations which were entertained of his ability." He 
 was immediately recommended to the Regents of the 
 University, and early in 1848 was appointed professor 
 of physiology and pathology. 
 
 This proved a valuable enlargement of the curri- 
 culum, and was noticed as follows in the college cat- 
 alogue for 1852. "The course on Physiology and 
 Pathology has been a very important addition to the 
 regular course of instruction, and is the only course 
 of the kind given in this country. The Lectures on 
 Physiology embrace the minute anatomy of the Tis- 
 sues, and are amply illustrated by magnified drawings, 
 and by frequent demonstrations under the microscope. 
 The course on Pathology is equally full, and is con- 
 stantly enriched by the exhibition and demonstration 
 of recent specimens illustrating the various changes 
 produced in tissues and organs by disease." 
 
 But after some years spent in this professorship, 
 Dr. Clark's attention was drawn to the more practical 
 departments of medicine. He assisted his colleagues 
 
THE FACULTY. 93 
 
 during the illness of Dr. Bartlett, in 1853 and 1854, 
 by delivering a part of the course on theory and prac- 
 tice ; and when the chair of materia medica was va- 
 cated by Dr. Bartlett's resignation in 1855 a re- 
 arrangement of the professorships took place. Dr. 
 Joseph M. Smith became professor of " Materia 
 Medica and Clinical Medicine ; " and Dr. Clark was 
 made professor of " Pathology and Practical Medi- 
 cine." At the same time physiology assumed a more 
 independent position than before, under the name 
 of " Physiology and Microscopic Anatomy ; " and this 
 chair was filled by the appointment of Dr. John C. 
 Daltoriy who had acted as lecturer in the session of 
 
 1854-5- 
 
 In the same year Dr. Torrey resigned the profes- 
 sorship of chemistry. He was led to this mainly by 
 the pressure of his engagements in the United States 
 Assay Office, of which he had been appointed super- 
 intendent in 1853. The lectures on chemistry for 
 1855-6 were given by Dr. John Le Conte ; but in the 
 following year the duties of this chair were performed 
 by Dr. Samuel St. yohn, who was already a teacher 
 of this branch in the medical college at Cleveland, 
 Ohio. He was regularly appointed professor of chem- 
 istry in 1857. 
 
 Finally the president, Dr. Alexander H. Stevens, 
 resigned his office in November, 1855. He had at- 
 tended the first course of lectures at the College in 
 1807 ; at which time he was eighteen years of age, 
 and a pupil of Dr. Miller, the professor of the practice 
 
94 CHANGES IN ' ■ 
 
 of physic. He became a member of the Board of 
 Trustees in 1820; professor of surgery at the reor- 
 ganization of the College in 1826 ; and at the time of 
 his resignation he had served for twelve years as 
 president. He was for twenty-two years visiting sur- 
 geon to the New York Hospital while it was the only 
 institution of its kind in the city, and afterward con- 
 sulting surgeon to both the New York and Bellevue 
 hospitals. Throughout his active service he was 
 prominent for his popularity and success as a clinical 
 teacher. According to his biographer, Dr. Adams, 
 none of those who heard him could fail to be im- 
 pressed with his "peculiar aptitude for this depart- 
 ment, the kindness of his manner toward the suffering, 
 his avoidance of unnecessary manipulations, his accu- 
 racy of diagnosis and felicity of illustration." In the 
 lecture room his language was " familiar, but emphatic 
 and impressive." As an operator he was " cautious, 
 deliberate, and full of resources in unexpected compli- 
 cations." His judgment and skill were eminently 
 practical, and could always be relied on in times of 
 difficulty or danger. In the cholera epidemic of 1832, 
 which caused at its height over one hundred deaths in 
 a day, and produced in the city a wide-spread panic, 
 he was appointed by the Board of Health president of 
 a Special Medical Council for the supervision of all 
 public sanitary matters, holding daily sessions through- 
 out July and August. Of this council Dr. Stevens 
 was the "master spirit;" directing its operations and 
 preparing its documents and reports. 
 
THE FACULTY. 95 
 
 He was one of those who called the first meeting- 
 for the formation of the New York Academy of Medi- 
 cine in 1847. He was elected president of the Ameri- 
 can Medical Association at its annual meeting in 1848. 
 He was president of the Medical Society of the State 
 of New York in 1849 and 1850; and of the New York 
 Academy of Medicine in 1851. 
 
 His earliest work was a translation of Boyer's 
 Treatise on Stirgical Diseases, New York, 18 15. 
 From 18 18 to 1841 he contributed a variety of articles 
 on surgery, surgical anatomy, and midwifery to the 
 Medical Repository, the Medical and Stirgical Regis- 
 ter, the Isfew York Medical and Physical journal, 
 and the JVew York Journal of Medicine and Surgery. 
 In 1837 ^^ published a clinical lecture on the Primary 
 Treatjnent of Injtiries j in the same year Lectures on 
 Lithotomy, given at the New York Hospital ; and in 
 1847 he delivered the Valedictory Address at the 
 College, a discourse full of sound, practical advice to 
 the graduating class. 
 
 His address as president of the State Medical So- 
 ciety in 1849 was a Plea of Humanity in Behalf of 
 Medical Education, intended to arouse interest on 
 this subject in the profession and the legislature. It 
 gave an extended review of the benefits conferred on 
 society through the labors of medical men ; including 
 inoculation and vaccination, the establishment of hos- 
 pitals, the improved treatment of the insane, the in- 
 struction of the blind and dumb, applications of science 
 to the arts and agriculture, and the diminution of the 
 
96 CHANGES IN 
 
 death-rate by remedial and hygienic means. In the 
 following year his address was on Public Health, con- 
 taining suggestions for First, a sanitary survey of the 
 State, to determine the nature and extent of the exist- 
 ing sources of preventable disease ; and Secondly, the 
 formation of a State medical bureau, to consider mat- 
 ters of legislation affecting the public health. 
 
 On the retirement of Dr. Stevens from the presi- 
 dency of the College, the Board of Trustees adopted 
 resolutions testifying their "deep regret" at his resig- 
 nation. It was also ''Resolved, that the interest he 
 has uniformly shown in the welfare of the College, his 
 incessant vigilance in watching over its affairs, and the 
 earnest zeal with which he has either originated or 
 forwarded every improvement in its organization, have 
 secured to him the respect and good will of the Board 
 over which he has so long presided ; also. Resolved, 
 that, cherishing these sentiments toward their late 
 president, the Board is unwilling to part with him 
 without expressing their continued interest in his wel- 
 fare, and the hope that he may realize, in retiring from 
 public life, the peace and happiness which he has so 
 richly earned in a long life of professional eminence 
 and active exertion for the good of his profession and 
 the public at large." 
 
 Long after his withdrawal from office. Dr. Stevens 
 continued to evince a warm interest in the College ; 
 often visiting it during the lecture season, and attend 
 ing its inaugural or commencement exercises. His 
 presence on these occasions was welcome to -young 
 
THE FACULTY. 97 
 
 and old. His noble features, with their sedate but 
 kindly expression, and the childlike simplicity of his 
 disposition, combined with firmness and dignity of 
 character, marked him as the possessor of superior 
 qualities and won from his associates the general 
 tribute of their esteem. He died in 1869, at the age of 
 eighty years. 
 
 Soon after Dr. Stevens' resignation Dr. Thomas 
 Cock was appointed president of the College. He 
 was already seventy-three years of age, having grad- 
 uated from the former medical school of Columbia 
 College in 1805 ; and for nearly thirty years he had 
 been vice president of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons. He was visiting physician to the New 
 York Hospital from 1819 to 1834, and president of 
 the New York Academy of Medicine in 1852 ; and he 
 was interested in various public philanthropic institu- 
 tions. His character was marked by an unvarying 
 equanimity, and by faithfulness and punctuality in the 
 performance of his duties. But the infirmities connected 
 with his advanced years interfered with his continued 
 activity in the affairs of the College ; and he resigned 
 the presidency in 1858. His successor was Dr. Ed- 
 ward Delafield, the former professor of obstetrics. 
 
 7 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 REMOVAL TO TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 
 
 UNION WITH COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 
 
 1856-1860. 
 
 By this time the College had been transferred 
 from Crosby street to a new location at the corner of 
 Twenty-third street and Fourth Avenue. Reasons 
 like those which had caused its previous removal 
 were now again operative ; namely, the upward move- 
 ment of the resident population and the adjacent 
 growth of commercial and manufacturing establish- 
 ments unfavorable to the business of the college. 
 The matter was first broached in 1854, in a commu- 
 nication from the faculty to the Board of Trustees, by 
 whom it was referred to a special committee. It ap- 
 peared evident to the friends of the institution that 
 such a change was already desirable, and likely to 
 become before long " imperatively necessary." But 
 it involved many difficulties of a financial nature. The 
 Crosby street property was so far encumbered that 
 its sale would leave little to be realized for a building 
 fund ; and the cost of a new site and structure must 
 be provided for mainly from other sources. These 
 difficulties were at last overcome, for the most part 
 
REMOVAL TO TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 99 
 
 through the zeal and energy of Dr. Parker and the 
 cooperation of his colleagues. Early in 1855 several 
 vacant lots, embracing seventy-five feet on Twenty- 
 third street by about one hundred feet on Fourth Av- 
 enue, were selected as the location for the College. 
 The land was purchased by Dr. Parker for $35,000 ; 
 and on the fifth of May this purchase, together with 
 building plans and estimates, was considered and ap- 
 proved by the Board of Trustees. At the same time 
 the committee on this subject was authorized to dis- 
 pose of the Crosby street property, and to apply its 
 proceeds toward the cost of the new establishment. 
 The work proceeded accordingly, and by the end of 
 the year was so far completed that it was determined 
 to remove the College during the winter holidays. 
 The removal took place, and the new building was 
 inaugurated, with an address from the president. Dr. 
 Delafield, January 22d, 1856. 
 
 The building was of brick and brown-stone, four 
 stories in height, nearly one hundred feet deep on 
 Fourth Avenue and sixty feet wide on Twenty-third 
 street ; leaving on its easterly side a court yard fifteen 
 feet in width, for light and air. The first story was oc- 
 cupied by stores opening on Fourth Avenue and rented 
 for business purposes. On the Twenty-third street 
 front a double flight of stone steps led to the main en- 
 trance on the second floor. This story was occupied 
 by a lecture room, forty-five feet by fifty ; with the 
 laboratory of the chemical professor in the rear, and 
 various offices and private rooms on the westerly side. 
 
lOO 
 
 REMOVAL TO 
 
 The third floor contained the anatomical museum, 
 forty feet by eighteen ; the amphitheatre, forty-five 
 feet by fifty, to seat an audience of a httle over three 
 hundred ; with private rooms, and waiting and ex- 
 amination rooms for cHnical patients ; and anatomi- 
 cal and physiological preparation rooms. In the 
 fourth story, which was lighted only from the roof, 
 
 The College Building in Twenty-third Street. 
 
 1856-1887. 
 1 
 
 From the Annual Catalogue for 1863. 
 
 was the general dissecting room, accommodating 
 twenty-five tables. The building was warmed by a 
 hot air furnace in the cellar for the halls and lecture 
 rooms, and by stoves and fire places for the private 
 rooms. Gas light? and Croton water were generally 
 distributed. 
 
 The transfer of the College to its new quarters was 
 not effected without strenuous exertion on the part of 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET. lOl 
 
 the faculty. The expense of the building and its fur- 
 niture was $55,930; making the total cost of land 
 and building over $90,000. To meet this charge but 
 little more than $9,000 remained in the hands of the 
 Trustees after the disposal of the Crosby street prop- 
 erty. Dr. Parker advanced $60,723, secured by bond 
 and mortgage; and the remaining sum of $21,000 
 was supplied by the professors, in the form of a loan 
 without interest. Much care was needed to secure 
 the success of the enterprise, with due adjustment of 
 the various interests involved. It was finally accom- 
 plished ; although many years elapsed before the • 
 college finances were reduced to a more simple and 
 satisfactory condition. 
 
 Soon after the removal to Twenty-third street, the 
 faculty of the College was as follows : 
 
 THE FACULTY IN I 858. 
 
 Edward Delafield, M.D., President. 
 
 Joseph M. Smith, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica 
 
 and Clinical Medicine. 
 Robert Watts, M.D., Professor of Anatomy. 
 Willard Parker, M.D., Professor of the Principles 
 
 and Practice of Surgery. 
 Chandler R. Oilman, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics 
 
 and the Diseases of Women and Children. 
 Alonzo Clark, M.D., Professor of Pathology and 
 
 Practical Medicine. 
 John C. Dalton, M.D., Professor of Physiology and 
 
 Microscopic Anatomy. 
 Samuel St. John, M.D., Professor of Chemistry. 
 
I02 UNION WITH 
 
 For the next seven years the faculty remained the 
 same. After that time it began to suffer changes 
 by death and resignation ; but its membership was 
 not completely renewed until twenty-five years had 
 elapsed. 
 
 In i860 the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 was made independent of the Regents of the Univer- 
 sity, and became the Medical Department of Colum- 
 bia College. The former of these changes was desir- 
 able on account of certain difficulties in the practical 
 management of affairs, which had become more 
 troublesome with the increasing growth of the Col- 
 lege. All the immediate business of the institution 
 was transacted in the city of New York. Everything 
 connected with the courses of instruction, the exami- 
 nation of candidates, the commencement exercises, 
 the selection of proper persons to be recommended 
 for professors or lecturers, or for new members of the 
 Board of Trustees, with other matters of incidental 
 importance, required the personal attention of the 
 faculty and trustees, who were directly responsible 
 for the result. But the ultimate authority for all such 
 proceedings was in the Regents of the University of 
 the State of New York. The assent of this body was 
 necessary for the issuing of each diploma, for the 
 appointment of every new professor or trustee, and 
 even for the validity of by-laws adopted by the trus- 
 tees for their own guidance. 
 
 This complicated governmental machinery often 
 
COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 1 03 
 
 gave rise to serious inconvenience. The Regents 
 held their meetings in the city of Albany ; and 
 though abundantly willing to further in every way 
 the interests of the College, their concurrence in 
 measures requiring promptitude or punctuality could 
 not always be obtained in due season. Every year, 
 after the examination of candidates for graduation, the 
 list of those found competent by the faculty and rec- 
 ommended by the Trustees must be transmitted to 
 Albany, the diplomas there made ready and authenti- 
 cated, and then sent to New York, to be signed by 
 the president and professors before they could be de- 
 livered to the graduates. There were frequent delays 
 and occasional failures in the transmission of these 
 documents ; and to provide against this contingency 
 the examinations were sometimes commenced several 
 weeks earlier, thus virtually abridging the term, so far 
 as the graduating class were concerned, for purposes 
 of instruction. 
 
 In 1859 the matter was brought before the faculty 
 and referred to a committee ; by whom, early in the 
 following year, a report was presented embodying 
 the above facts. A committee of conference from the 
 Trustees was also appointed, and the subject consid- 
 ered by the joint committee. In accordance with their 
 recommendation . a memorial was forwarded to the 
 Regents soliciting such amendment of the charter as 
 should give to the Board of Trustees the power of 
 final action in regard to graduations, appointments, 
 and by-laws. There was no opposition to this scheme 
 
I04 UNIO-N WITH 
 
 on the part of the Regents ; but in their opinion it 
 would be of somewhat doubtful legality unless sanc- 
 tioned by the legislature. It was accordingly re- 
 ferred to that body ; and an act was passed March 
 24th, i860, amending the charter of the College as 
 follows : 
 
 " Section I. The right reserved to the Regents of 
 the University, to confer degrees and to appoint the 
 professors or teachers in the several branches of medi- 
 cal science in the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 in the city of New York, and of filling all such vacan- 
 cies as may arise among the trustees or members 
 thereof, are hereby granted to and vested in the Trus- 
 tees of the said College ; and the by-laws which shall 
 from time to time be made by the said Trustees shall 
 be valid and effectual without being confirmed or ap- 
 proved by the said Regents." 
 
 By this act the College was relieved from the re- 
 straints of Its subordination to the Board of Regents, 
 and enabled to transact Its business with greater 
 facility. But some explanation seems necessary to ac- 
 count for the ready concurrence given to this change, 
 and for the willingness of the Regents to entrust to 
 other hands a part of their vested authority ; especially 
 as on a former occasion their assent had been refused 
 to a similar but less important request. As early as 
 1825 the Trustees of the College had presented a me- 
 morial praying that they might be granted the power 
 of making their own by-laws ; and the committee of 
 the Reo;ents to whom the matter was referred had 
 
COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 105 
 
 reported that, in their opinion, it would be " inexpe- 
 dient to aboHsh or release the right reserved to the 
 Regents on the subject of the by-laws of the College." 
 The reason for the different view taken by the Re- 
 gents in i860 is to be found in the changed condition 
 of both the University and the College. The Univer- 
 sity of the State of New York, created by the legisla- 
 ture in 1784, was originally intended to include under 
 its supervision and patronage all the higher educa- 
 tional establishments in the State. In 1791 it was 
 empowered to institute, as soon as it might be advis- 
 able, a College of Physicians and Surgeons, and to 
 appoint professors or teachers therein ; and for twenty 
 years previous to 1835 it was the only recognized au- 
 thority in the State for conferring medical degrees. 
 But after that time medical colleges began to be incor- 
 porated directly by the legislature; and in i860 there 
 were already a number of such institutions independ- 
 ent of the Regents, and empowered to grant diplomas 
 under the authority of their own Trustees.* The 
 Regents were therefore less solicitous for retaining a 
 control which had so largely diminished in impor- 
 tance ; and on the other hand, the College no longer 
 derived from its connection with the University the 
 same prestige as before. Both parties, moreover, 
 
 * The names of these Colleges, with their dates of incorporation, 
 were as follows : Medical Institution of Geneva College, 1835 ; Medical 
 Department of the University of the City of New York, 1837 ; Albany 
 Medical College, 1839 ; Medical Department of the University of Buf- 
 falo, 1846 ; New York Medical College, 1850; Long Island College Hos- 
 pital, 1858. 
 
I06 UNION WITH 
 
 were ready to adopt any measure which promised to 
 be of practical benefit to the institution. 
 
 Soon after the above change had been effected 
 negotiations were set on foot looking to a union of 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons with Colum- 
 bia College, as the medical department of that institu- 
 tion. Under the charter which it already possessed, 
 Columbia College was competent to establish such a 
 department ; and after several conferences between 
 the respective Boards of Trustees the object was ac- 
 complished. On the fourth of June the Trustees of 
 Columbia College formally adopted the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons as its medical department ; 
 and on the sixth of the same month the Trustees of 
 the College of Physicians and Surgeons passed con- 
 current resolutions, providing that the diplomas for 
 the degree of Doctor in Medicine should be " signed 
 by the presidents of the respective colleges and by 
 the faculty of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons," and should be " publicly conferred by the 
 president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 sitting with the president of Columbia College." A 
 communication from the president to the faculty, dated 
 June 1 8th, i860, officially announces that the forego- 
 ing action has been taken, and that " the alliance be- 
 tween the two Colleges is now complete." 
 
 By this means a union was effected between the 
 two oldest and most prominent institutions in the 
 State for general academic and professional education. 
 In their earlier history they had already been con- 
 
COLUMBIA COLLEGE. 107 
 
 nected with each other. When the medical lectures 
 of Columbia College were suspended iu 18 13, it was 
 only that the same professors might continue their 
 courses under the new organization ; and for more 
 than ten years thereafter they constituted the faculty 
 of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. In i860, 
 four of the trustees of Columbia College were also 
 trustees of the College of Physicians and Surgeons ; 
 and since then the two governing Boards have nearly 
 always had a number of their members in common. 
 Their official connection is thus strengthened by a 
 community of interest in the two institutions, and by 
 personal acquaintance with the affairs of each. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 
 1856-1887. 
 
 During the thirty-one years passed by the College 
 in Twenty-third street it exhibited many signs of pro- 
 gress and development. Most of them consisted in 
 the continuation or enlaro^ement of imorovements 
 already inaugurated, which experience had shown to 
 be of practical utility. Others were the outgrowth of 
 recent times, bringing with them greater opportunities 
 and more exacting requirements- 
 
 One of the important events of this period was the 
 formation of the Association of the Alumni. Early in 
 1859 an invitation was issued to the graduates of the 
 College in the following terms. 
 
 "Sir; The College of Physicians and Surgeons, in- 
 stituted in 1807, has now been in existence fifty-two 
 years, and numbers more than eighteen hundred grad- 
 uates. Among them are to be found men of all ages 
 and distinguished in every department of the profes- 
 sion. It has been thought, by some of the alumni, 
 that an Association, comprehending both the graduates 
 of the institution, and those who have been connected 
 
THE COLLEGE LN TWENTY-THLRD STREET. 1 09 
 
 with it, either in its Faculty or as medical members of 
 the Board of Trustees, would be eminently desirable 
 by occasionally bringing together those who from 
 feelinof or association have a common interest in its 
 welfare. 
 
 " Beside its good effects in bringing together those 
 who have pursued their studies at the same time, and 
 in promoting good feeling and harmony among the 
 graduates of the College, such an association, properly 
 organized, could not fail to exercise, in a variety of 
 ways, a beneficial influence. 
 
 " At the request of some gentlemen who have or- 
 ganized temporarily, and formed the nucleus of an as- 
 sociation, Dr. Alexander H. Stevens has consented to 
 deliver an Address to the Alumni of the College at 
 the approaching commencement. As an Alumnus of 
 the College, you are cordially invited to attend, on 
 Thursday evening next, March loth, at half-past seven 
 o'clock. 
 
 " For the purpose of permanently organizing the 
 association, a meeting of the Alumni will be held on 
 Friday, March nth, at the residence of Dr. Delafield, 
 No. I East Seventeenth street. 
 
 Edward Delafield, M.D. John Torrey, M.D. 
 
 Theo. L. Mason, M.D. Gurdon Buck, M,D. 
 
 John Watson, M.D. Edw° L. Beadle, M.D. 
 
 Benj. W. McCready, M.D. Abram Du Bois, M.D. 
 Tho^ M. Markoe, M.D. W^' H. Dudley, M.D. 
 
 Chauncey L. Mitchell, M.D. Cha^ M. Allin, M.D*. 
 Joseph H. Vedder, M.D. Henry B. Sands, M.D." 
 
no THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 In response to this call about two hundred grad- 
 uates assembled, formed themselves into an associa- 
 tion, and elected their officers ; among them an orator 
 for the ensuing anniversary. 
 
 For the next five years the proceedings of the as- 
 sociation consisted, as above, of an address delivered 
 at the college commencement and an annual meeting 
 at the house of one of the resident members for the 
 election of officers and incidental business. But in 
 1864 Dr. Delafield, who was then president of the Col- 
 lege, offered a prize of One Hundred dollars for the 
 best medical essay to be submitted by an alumnus 
 during the ensuing year ; and it was decided to dis- 
 pense with the anniversary address. This led soon 
 after to the establishment of the " Alumni Prize." At 
 the annual meetinof in 1866 it was resolved "that the 
 Association establish, as soon as possible, an annual 
 prize, of One Hundred dollars, for the best essay on 
 a medical or surgical subject ; " and that, " in order to 
 make this prize perpetual, the sum of Fifteen Hundred 
 dollars be raised by subscription among the alumni 
 and invested as a fund, the interest of which, at least 
 to the amount of One Hundred dollars, shall be an- 
 nually devoted to this object." 
 
 The project thus proposed was realized at the 
 same meeting ; the required amount of $1,500 being 
 presented by Dr. Delafield. At first the prize was 
 appropriately named the Delafield Prize. But in the 
 following year it was resolved that the fund be in- 
 creased to $3,000 by soliciting subscriptions from the 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET I 1 1 
 
 alumni ; and that the interest thereof " be offered as 
 an annual prize for the best essay upon some subject 
 connected with medicine or surgery." In accordance 
 with Dr. Delafield's expressed desire it was thereafter 
 designated the A htmni Association Prize of the Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons. This enlargement 
 of the fund was recommended by the committee for 
 the reason that it would " encourage among the 
 Alumni a spirit of emulation and devotion to scientific 
 research, that must eventually redound to the honor 
 of the College and the progress of medical art." 
 
 To this appeal the members of the association re- 
 sponded with such alacrity that by 1870 the fund had 
 already reached the proposed sum of Three Thousand 
 dollars ; by 1878 it was nearly Five Thousand ; and 
 in 1886 it amounted to Six Thousand dollars, by con- 
 tributions from about eighty different members. In 
 1878 it was supplemented by a bequest from Mr. 
 Benjamin Cartwright, a friend and patient of the 
 vice president of the association. Dr. A. N. Dough- 
 erty. This legacy amounted to Ten Thousand dol- 
 lars, one half of which was to maintain an annual or 
 biennial prize. This enabled the association to es- 
 tablish two biennial prizes, of Five Hundred dollars 
 each, to be awarded in alternate years ; one of them, 
 the " Alumni Association Prize," open to the alumni 
 of the College, the other, the " Cartwright Prize," 
 open to the profession at large. It was required 
 that the competing essays for these prizes, in ad- 
 dition to a high grade of literary excellence, should 
 
112 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 possess the merit and embody the results of original 
 research. 
 
 The remaining half of the Cartwright legacy was 
 devoted to the establishment of lectures, to be given, 
 annually or biennially, on some topic of novelty or 
 interest for the general profession. These are the 
 " Cartwright Lectures," which are delivered, under the 
 auspices of the association, every two years, alternat- 
 ing with the biennial award of the Cartwright prize. 
 
 This was the successful issue of the first enterprise 
 undertaken by the Alumni Association. The second 
 was still more important. In 1873 the association 
 adopted a resolution declaring it to be " a prevailing 
 sentiment among the graduates of the College that its 
 field of usefulness should be extended, to meet the 
 continued advance in medical science ; " and appointing 
 a committee of conference with the faculty for the 
 furtherance of that object. Agreeably to the recom- 
 mendations of the committee, a plan was adopted to 
 raise a fund for the special endowment of a professor- 
 ship of Pathological Anatomy, and for the establish- 
 ment of laboratories for experimental instruction in 
 chemistry, physiology and pathology. It was be- 
 lieved by the committee that there could be " no more 
 certain way of advancing the standard of medical edu- 
 cation than by furnishing the most ample facilities for 
 the prosecution of studies and investigations in the 
 purely scientific departments of medicine ; " and that 
 improvements of this kind were " most urgently 
 needed by the College." 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET. II3 
 
 A circular setting forth the above plan was dis- 
 tributed to the alumni in New York and the vicinity 
 with such success that in January of the following year 
 Fifteen Hundred dollars had been received toward the 
 formation of the fund. By 1875 it had increased to 
 over Three Thousand; and in 1877 it amounted to 
 Ten Thousand dollars, all contributed by graduates of 
 the College. 
 
 By that time it appeared advisable to reconsider, 
 in some respects, the destination of the fund. Its pri- 
 mary object had been mainly the endowment of a chair 
 of pathological anatomy. But certain changes in the 
 faculty were now in prospect which would obviate the 
 necessity for such an endowment ; and it was accord- 
 ingly proposed that the acquired fund should be util- 
 ized directly for the establishment of laboratories of 
 instruction. This was declared to be the " aim of the 
 association," and the wisest object to which its means 
 and energies could be devoted. After full discussion 
 and consultation, the above measure was adopted, ac- 
 cording to a plan suggested by Dr. Francis Delafield, 
 who was then adjunct professor of pathology and prac- 
 tical medicine. The sum of Ten Thousand dollars al- 
 ready collected, heretofore known as the Endowment 
 Fund, was now designated the " Laboratory Fund." 
 Of this amount the association appropriated Fifteen 
 Hundred dollars for the equipment of the laboratory ; 
 the income of the remainder being assigned toward its 
 support during the year. The laboratory was installed 
 in one of the lower rooms of the College buildinof • Dr. 
 
114 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 Delafield acting as its Director for the first three years, 
 and bearing no inconsiderable part of its current ex- 
 penses. Additional contributions were received from 
 graduates and from the faculty. The enlargement and 
 maintenance of the laboratory became a favorite object 
 with the alumni; and in 1884 the Councillors of the 
 association, at a special meeting, resolved to take im- 
 mediate action, by further subscriptions, for " placing 
 the Physiological and Pathological Laboratory Fund 
 of the Association upon a basis suited to the require- 
 ments of the departments of physiology and pathol- 
 ogy-" 
 
 In this way the Association established itself on a 
 
 permanent footing, as an element of strength and 
 prosperity for the College. In 1873 it was incorpo- 
 rated, under the name of the " Association of the 
 Alumni of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 
 the city of New York." The purpose of the associa- 
 tion is declared in its constitution to be the promotion 
 of " the interests of the College of Physicians and 
 Surofeons in the work of medical education," and the 
 cultivation of " social intercourse amono- the alumni." 
 Its spirit is expressed, in the report of a committee of 
 the Councillors for 1881, as follows: "The Alumni 
 are the natural guardians of our Alma Mater ; it is 
 their province and their privilege to maintain her 
 honor, to stimulate her energy, and to aid her in be- 
 coming the representative of progress in medical edu- 
 cation." 
 
 This object has been assiduously carried out. 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET II5 
 
 There is no part of the organization of the College, of 
 which it can more justly be proud, than the association 
 of its alumni. Their regard for its traditions, and 
 their interest in its reputation and welfare, form the 
 surest guaranty of its future stability ; and their coun- 
 sel and cooperation must be often effective in guiding 
 its policy and in furthering its designs. On the other 
 hand, the highest honor which can attach to the Col- 
 lege comes from the general professional standing of 
 its graduates. This is the real purpose of its exist- 
 ence and the ultimate criterion of its success. More- 
 over, the College and the Association react upon each 
 other to their mutual advantage. The more faithfully 
 the College performs its part in the work of education, 
 the larger will be its returns in the esteem and attach- 
 ment of its alumni ; and alumni can render no. better 
 service for the improvement of the profession than by 
 aiding to raise the character and increase the useful- 
 ness of their Medical School. 
 
 A second feature of interest introduced into the 
 College at this time was the establishment of prizes 
 for undergraduates. The first were two prizes, one 
 of Fifty dollars and one of Twenty-five dollars, offered 
 by the faculty in 1858, to be awarded at each annual 
 commencement for the best graduating theses sub- 
 mitted during the year. Their object was to prevent 
 the graduating class regarding the thesis too much as 
 a formality, and to induce, by the proffered honor of a 
 prize, due care in its preparation, as the only written 
 evidence of the candidate's proficiency. 
 
Il6 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 In i860 a prize was offered by Dr. Alexander H. 
 Stevens " for the best series of preparations which 
 shall adequately illustrate the anatomy, physiology, 
 and pathology of the Larynx." This prize, which 
 amounted to One Hundred dollars and was open for 
 competition to all, was awarded in 1864. 
 
 Two years afterward Dr. Stevens established a 
 permanent fund of One Thousand dollars " for the 
 encouragement and improvement of medical litera- 
 ture." This was known as the " Stevens Triennial 
 Prize Fund." Its administration was entrusted to a 
 committee consisting of the president of the College, 
 the president of the Alumni Association, and the pro- 
 fessor of Physiology. Its income was to be awarded, 
 once in three years, for the best essay on the subjects 
 proposed by the committee. This prize was also open 
 for universal competition ; and although undergrad- 
 uates of the College could rarely hope for success in 
 obtaining it, they were not excluded from trial by the 
 terms of the endowment. 
 
 About the same time a prize was founded by Dr. 
 Jacob Harsen, which afterward proved the most im- 
 portant benefaction so far received by the College. 
 It consisted at first of a gold medal and One Hundred 
 dollars in money, to be annually awarded for the best 
 written report of the clinical instruction in the New 
 York Hospital during four months of the year, which 
 should be prepared and presented by an undergrad- 
 uate student of the College. Productive securities, 
 sufficient to provide for this prize, were conveyed 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET 
 
 117 
 
 to the College by a formal deed of trust, May 7th, 
 1850. 
 
 Dr. Harsen, whose family were among the early 
 Dutch settlers of New York, was a native of the city 
 and an academical graduate of Columbia College. He 
 
 Jacob Harsen, M.D. 
 
 From a medallion portrait by Karl Miiller, 
 
 1861. 
 
 Studied medicine in the office of Dr. Stevens, and 
 received his medical degree from the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons in 1829. For a few 3-ears 
 he engaged in general practice, and in the cholera 
 epidemic of 1832 he served the city as district physi- 
 cian. Although he soon afterward relinquished prac- 
 
Il8 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 tice as an occupation, he continued to devote much 
 time to professional charities and associations. He 
 was especially interested in the Northern Dispensary, 
 contributing liberally to its support, and serving for 
 twenty years as one of its managers. He was also 
 a Director of the New York Eye Infirmary, and a 
 Trustee and Councillor of the Academy of Medicine. 
 In all these positions he was capable and zealous in 
 the discharge of his official duties. His retirement 
 from practice never diminished his interest in medical 
 affairs nor his regard for the College in which he had 
 received his professional education. He died in 1862, 
 at the age of fifty-four years. 
 
 The special form given to this prize was prompted 
 by a double motive. The New York Hospital was 
 the oldest, and for many years the only, medical char- 
 ity of importance in the city ; and even after the 
 establishment of other similar institutions, it remained 
 the favorite with those whose habits or recollections 
 connected them with the social ideas of a former 
 period. Dr. Harsen, both from his professional and 
 family associations, belonged to this class. He be- 
 lieved that the advantages for clinical instruction 
 afforded by the New York Hospital could be made' 
 more useful by attracting to them the special atten- 
 tion of medical students ; and, on the other hand, as 
 an alumnus of the College, he wished to testify his 
 regard for his alma mater, and to " increase the spirit 
 of emulation " among her pupils. He therefore offered 
 the prize for clinical reports gathered in the New York 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET 
 
 119 
 
 Hospital by students of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons. 
 
 Finding his plan approved by the Trustees and 
 Faculty, Dr. Harsen enlarged it in i860, to include 
 two additional prizes for the second and third best 
 
 The New York Hospital 
 
 in 1S60. 
 
 From a print in Appleton's New York Illustrated, 1869. 
 
 reports, to be awarded in -the same manner as the 
 first. The three were thenceforward known as the 
 " Harsen Prizes for Clinical Reports." They con- 
 sisted of a First Prize, of the value of One Hundred 
 and Fifty dollars ; a Second Prize, of the value of 
 Seventy-five dollars ; and a Third Prize, of the value 
 of Twenty-five dollars. With each prize there was 
 
[20 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 given a " Harsen Medal" in bronze, and a diploma 
 signed by the prize committee. 
 
 These prizes were annually awarded, from the date 
 of their establishment until 1869. In that year the 
 New York Hospital vacated the property which it had 
 so long occupied in Broadway, with the prospect of 
 acquiring larger and better accommodations elsewhere. 
 But this object was delayed by tmforeseen difficulties 
 until 1877; and in the mean time, there being no 
 " clinical instruction in the New York Hospital," no 
 reports were made and the Harsen prizes were sus- 
 pended. 
 
 Their place, however, was taken by prizes offered, 
 by members of the faculty and others connected with 
 the College, for proficiency in special branches of 
 study or for reports of lectures in special departments. 
 In 1874 there was added the "Joseph Mather Smith 
 Prize," endowed by the relatives and friends of the 
 late Dr. J. M. Smith, in commemoration of his long 
 service as professor in the College. It provided for an 
 annual award of One Hundred dollars for the best 
 essay on the subject of the year, presented by an 
 alumnus of the College or a member of the graduat- 
 ing class. 
 
 Contrary to expectation, it had by this time become 
 manifest that most of these prizes, instead of being an 
 advantage to the recipients and their competitors, 
 were having an injurious effect. They were offered 
 by professors and teachers in the College, with the 
 sanction of the faculty ; and were therefore fairly con- 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET 12 1 
 
 sidered by the students as legitimate objects of compe- 
 tition. All who possessed a fair share of capacity, 
 industry and ambition were naturally desirous of ob- 
 taining one of them ; especially as it would be to their 
 relatives and friends a source of no little gratifica- 
 tion, as the honorable evidence of their ability and 
 merit. 
 
 With every year the desire for this distinction in- 
 creased. To obtain it, many students devoted to the 
 struggle for a specific prize much time and labor which 
 should have been given to their regular studies. This 
 bad result was produced even by the prizes offered for 
 graduating theses. It became not uncommon for a 
 student to select, as the topic of his thesis, some sub- 
 ject requiring prolonged research in the medical libra- 
 ries or periodicals, with tabulated statistics and bib- 
 liographical references ; the whole embodied in a 
 voluminous essay, containing elaborate diagrams or 
 colored drawings by a professional artist, carefully en- 
 grossed and expensively bound ; the candidate mean- 
 while hardly having time to attend a lecture or demon- 
 stration in the Colleore. 
 
 The matter was made worse by the increasing 
 number of these inducements, offered, one after the 
 other, by various teachers ; until in one year there 
 were no less than ten such prizes open for competition 
 to undergraduates. Their influence was perceptible in 
 the inferiority of the general examinations ; and on 
 this account it was determined to abolish the system 
 in favor of a different plan. In 1876 the faculty 
 
122 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 adopted and promulgated the following preamble and 
 resolutions. 
 
 "Whereas, the experience of several years has 
 made it evident, in the opinion of the faculty, that 
 the offering of prizes to undergraduates for theses, 
 clinical or didactic reports, or proficiency in special ex- 
 aminations, has an injurious effect by diverting their 
 attention from the more necessary and legitimate pro- 
 secution of their studies : therefore. Resolved ; 
 
 I. That the Faculty Prizes heretofore offered for 
 graduating theses are hereby abolished. 
 
 II. That all professors and teachers connected with 
 the College are requested to withdraw any prizes they 
 may have heretofore offered for the competition of un- 
 dergraduates. This request is made under a high 
 appreciation of the liberal and commendable motives 
 which have prompted the offering of these prizes ; and 
 solely from the conviction that they are unexpectedly 
 operating to the injury of the medical class. 
 
 III. In place of the prizes thus discontinued, the 
 faculty hereby establish three prizes, for the members 
 of the graduating class, for general proficiency in ex- 
 amination ; namely, a First Prize of $ioo, a Second 
 Prize of $50, and a Third Prize of $25. The manner 
 of awarding these prizes is to be as follows : The ten 
 members of each graduating class who, in their exam- 
 inations for the degree of Doctor in Medicine and in 
 their graduating theses, have shown the highest pro- 
 ficiency in all the branches combined, shall each re- 
 ceive a diploma of " Examination Honors,'' and shall 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET I 23 
 
 be entitled to appear at a public competitive examina- 
 tion in writing for the " Examination Prizes," which 
 shall be awarded to the three successful competitors, 
 in the order of their merit. 
 
 This examination shall be conducted by members 
 of the faculty, and the prizes awarded by a committee 
 of three judges, consisting of the president of the 
 College, the president of the Association of Alumni, 
 and a resident alumnus selected by them." 
 
 By this means the industry of the student was re- 
 tained within its proper channels ; and the stimulus of 
 competition, instead of concentrating his efforts on a 
 single topic, was made to increase his general pro- 
 ficiency in the requirements of a medical education. 
 
 It happened, however, that a special difficulty was 
 presented in the case of the " Harsen Prizes for Clin- 
 ical Reports," For several years these prizes had 
 been in abeyance, owing to the suspension of the 
 New York Hospital, to which institution they were 
 restricted by the deed of trust. But the new hospital 
 building in Fifteenth street was now approaching 
 completion ; and when it should be again in opera- 
 tion the prizes must be offered and awarded as before. 
 During their suspension the prize fund had greatly 
 increased in amount. The property originally con- 
 veyed for this object was in the form of thirty-five 
 shares of stock in the United States Trust Company 
 of New York. By accumulation of the unexpended 
 income, and the privileged purchase of new stock for 
 the credit of the fund, it had increased durinor this 
 
124, 1HE COLLEGE LN 
 
 time to fifty-three shares, beside a few thousand dol- 
 lars in other securities ; and owing to the enhanced 
 value of the shares themselves the whole fund now 
 represented a sum of about Thirty Thousand dollars, 
 yielding an annual income of nearly Fifteen Hundred 
 dollars. This was far beyond the original intention of 
 Dr. Harsen, and, if applied to the payment of prizes 
 for clinical reports, would be wholly out of proportion 
 to their real merit, and very undesirable as a tempta- 
 tion to undergraduates. 
 
 In this dilemma it was thought best to petition the 
 Supreme Court for authority to divert the accumu- 
 lated surplus of the fund to such other purposes as 
 would be of advantage to the College and in harmony 
 with the spirit of the original donation. The petition 
 was placed by the Court in the hands of the Hon. 
 Richard O'Gorman as referee; whose report thereon 
 was accepted and confirmed by the Court February 
 25th, 1879. Under this decision, so much of the fund 
 as will carry out the primary object of the trust is re- 
 tained for that purpose, and still provides for three 
 " Harsen Prizes for Clinical Reports." The re- 
 mainder is applied to the prizes for general pro- • 
 ficiency in the graduating examinations. They are 
 henceforward known as the " Harsen prizes for pro- 
 ficiency at examination," and are increased both in 
 number and in value. The first prize amounts annu- 
 ally to Five Hundred dollars, the second to Three 
 Hundred dollars ; and the third to Two Hundred 
 dollars ; while the remaining seven of the ten com- 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 125 
 
 petitors each receive a prize amounting usually to 
 Twenty-five dollars. This liberal endowment is ac- 
 cordingly employed in the way most beneficial to the 
 graduates of the College. 
 
 The time spent in Twenty-third street was also 
 signalized by a remarkable growth of the College 
 Clinics. In 1856 there were three clinics per week. 
 They were soon afterward increased to four by an 
 additional surgical clinic established by Dr. William 
 Detmold, whose extensive reputation among the Ger- 
 man residents of the city attracted a numerous class 
 of patients for examination and treatment. The rising 
 importance of specialities in medical practice also be- 
 gan to produce a demand for various forms of special 
 instruction ; and so led to a corresponding expansion, 
 of the clinical department in the College. Beside 
 those already mentioned, there were successively 
 added a venereal clinic, a clinic for the eye and ear, 
 one for di,seases of the skin, one for children, one for 
 affections of the nervous system, and one for diseases 
 of the throat; until in 1876 there were ten separate 
 clinics per week in the college building. 
 
 This enlargement of the clinical service gave rise 
 to greatly increased requirements for accommodation. 
 When the Twenty-third street building was first oc- 
 cupied it was intended that two rooms on the third 
 floor should be fitted up as hospital wards, for male and 
 female patients who might have occasion to remain 
 some days before or after surgical operations. But it 
 soon became evident that all the space available for 
 
126 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 such purposes must be devoted to the reception and 
 examination of out-patients ; and the plan of hospital 
 wards was for this reason abandoned. Moreover, the 
 clinical professors needed room for the storage of 
 their apparatus and illustrations ; and the resources 
 of the college edifice were taxed to their utmost, to 
 provide for these increasing- demands. 
 
 The same difficulty was experienced by all the pro- 
 fessors who relied on demonstration in their method 
 of teaching. This feature of college instruction, 
 which had been adopted some years before, became 
 much enlarged while the institution was in Twenty- 
 third street. Not only in chemistry, but especially in 
 anatomy and physiology, the use of instruments, ap- 
 paratus and material, for purposes of demonstration, 
 grew to such an extent that the accommodation al- 
 lotted to these departments became excessively over- 
 crowded, notwithstanding every contrivance for econ- 
 omy of space. 
 
 Lastly, there were similar requirements for the 
 Physiological and Pathological Laboratory of the 
 Alumni Association. The laboratory was estab- 
 lished, in 1878, in an apartment of the college build- 
 ing which had been previously rented as a store. 
 With certain alterations and improvements it answered 
 the purpose very well for a time. But the number of 
 pupils soon increased to such an extent that the room 
 was no longer sufficient. In 1885 the Director an- 
 nounced, in his annual report to the alumni, that the 
 resources of the laboratory in the way of space were 
 
TWENTY THIRD STREET. I 27 
 
 exhausted; more students being in attendance than 
 could fairly.be accommodated. To meet this necessity 
 additional classes were established, for instruction 
 after the close of the regular session, in May and 
 June. But the relief afforded by this means was 
 still incomplete ; since it appeared, from the report 
 of the following year, that the number of students in 
 attendance was " limited only by the seating capacity 
 of the laboratory." 
 
 Thus the want of space became on all sides the 
 most serious difficulty in the college operations. 
 Plans were discussed for constructing an additional 
 story on the existing edifice, for building over the 
 vacant space in the rear, and for connecting the col- 
 lege with the adjacent dwelling house on Twenty-third 
 street. But these schemes all proved on examination 
 to be either impracticable, or likely to involve a large 
 expenditure with little corresponding benefit. It was 
 accordingly determined to postpone the attempt until 
 it might be possible to secure a new building with bet- 
 ter facilities in a new location. 
 
 A further system of improvements adopted at this 
 time consisted of changes in the mode of instruction 
 and examination. These changes were partly in the 
 way of simplification, where the methods in use had 
 proved cumbrous or ineffective. Formerly the candi- 
 dates for graduation were examined orally by the pro- 
 fessors, and if found competent were admitted to an- 
 other oral examination before the Faculty and Trustees 
 in joint session. This second examination, known as 
 
128 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 the " Trustee examination," was requisite for the final 
 acceptance of the candidate ; since degrees could be 
 conferred only with the assent and by the authority of 
 the Board. But it exacted a double expenditure of 
 time from the professors ; and it was a source of addi- 
 tional anxiety to students, from the presence of an un- 
 accustomed audience and the special solemnity of the 
 occasion. After this ordeal was passed there still re- 
 mained the public " Thesis examination," conducted in 
 the main lecture hall of the College, in which the candi- 
 date was questioned on the topics of his thesis and ex- 
 pected to answer any objections which might be made 
 to his statements or conclusions. It was an exercise 
 which consumed much valuable time, and had come to 
 be regarded, for the most part, as an empty ceremonial. 
 These two customs were abolished, at the instance 
 of the faculty, in 1863 and 1864. It was ordered by 
 the Trustees that the second examination, before the 
 joint boards, be dispensed with, and that " in place 
 thereof a committee consisting of five medical mem- 
 bers of the Board of Trustees be appointed yearly, to 
 be present at the examination of candidates by the 
 Faculty, of which examination due notice shall be 
 given by the Faculty to the Trustees." In this way 
 the safeguard of the examinations is still maintained, 
 without the inconveniences of the previous method. 
 It is at the same time equally efficacious with the for- 
 mer examination before the full Board ; since it is 
 confided to a responsible committee who are compe- 
 tent to the performance of the duty. 
 
TIVENTY-THIRD STREET. 1 29 
 
 The so-called " Thesis examination " was also 
 dispensed with. But the thesis of each candidate was 
 made part of his general examination, and was held to 
 affect the result according- to its good or bad quality 
 This gave to the written exercise its due value in the 
 examinations, and relieved the College from the bur- 
 den of a useless formality. 
 
 Other changes, of more importance than the fore- 
 going, established a greater precision in the mode of 
 examination, and in the requirements for graduation. 
 In former times the question of accepting or rejecting 
 a candidate was decided among the professors by a 
 majority vote. This method was quite sufficient so 
 long as the examinations were conducted before the 
 assembled faculty ; because each professor heard the 
 candidates examined in turn by his colleagues, and 
 could form an idea of their fitness in other departments 
 as well as his own. But subsequently to 1856, owing 
 to the increased number of students, it required too 
 much time to hold the examinations in common ; and 
 it became customary for each professor to examine the 
 candidates by himself, appearing afterward at a faculty 
 meeting, to report the result and vote accordingly. 
 Under this plan it appeared that a candidate might 
 sometimes be accepted although lamentably deficient 
 in three of the departments, if barely good enough in 
 the other four. 
 
 To provide against this contingency the faculty in 
 1 86 1 adopted a regulation that in passing upon candi- 
 dates three negative votes out of seven should be 
 
130 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 sufficient for rejection ; with the hmitation that two of 
 these votes should come from the practical depart- 
 ments. In 1876 this limitation was abolished, making 
 it requisite in every case that the candidate should be 
 approved by five out of the seven professors ; and in 
 1879 it was finally resolved that candidates for gradu- 
 ation " must pass satisfactorily in each of the seven 
 departments," that is, in anatomy, physiology, chem- 
 istry, materia medica, obstetrics, surgery and practical 
 medicine. Two years before, it had also been made 
 requisite that the candidate should present evidence 
 of having pursued the study of practical anatomy. 
 
 It was furthermore determined to provide a more 
 definite plan for estimating and recording a candidate's 
 proficiency in each department, and his general stand- 
 ing on the final result. This was done, in 1876, 1877 
 and 1878, by adopting a uniform standard of marks, 
 on a scale of eight as the maximum ; an aggregate of 
 forty for all examinations, with none of them below 
 four, being essential to graduation. By this means 
 the work of voting upon candidates was both facili- 
 tated and improved ; and it also gave a ready numer- 
 ical test by which the ten members of the graduating 
 class entitled to " examination honors " might be im- 
 partially selected. 
 
 In 1879 two additional changes were made which 
 revolutionized still further the process of examination. 
 By the first, all examinations for the degree of Doctor 
 in Medicine, heretofore conducted orally, were re- 
 quired to be in writing ; and by the second, the time 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 131 
 
 for holding these examinations was postponed until 
 after the close of the college lectures. 
 
 In the system of written examinations, the candi- 
 dates are assembled, at an appointed hour, in an 
 apartment assigned for the purpose, and supplied with 
 a series of questions arranged beforehand by the 
 professor. Each candidate is provided with a num- 
 bered blank-book, in which he writes his answers to 
 the questions, and which he gives up before leaving 
 the room. The professor then reads the answers, 
 records his judgment thereon in each case by the 
 number of the book, and reports the same to the 
 faculty ; the name of the candidate being withheld 
 until the reports of all the professors have been ren- 
 dered. The influences of personality on the mind of 
 the examiner are thus excluded, and his opinion of 
 the candidate's merit is based solely on the written 
 replies in an examination paper. This is usually 
 considered as ot prime importance in competitive 
 examinations ; and those for graduation in the College 
 partake of that character, since all the candidates are, 
 or may be, competitors for examination honors. 
 
 The postponement of examinations till after the 
 end of the college course was of great practical ad- 
 vantage. Experience had shown that attendance 
 upon lectures was of little avail after the beginning 
 of the examinations. The prospective graduates, 
 undergoing or anticipating their examinations from 
 day to day, were not in a condition to profit by the 
 ordinary methods of college instruction ; and they had 
 
132, THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 a well-founded suspicion that lectures delivered in any 
 department, after their examination, could not give 
 them information which they were required to possess 
 beforehand. The excitement of the occasion was also 
 more or less contagious, affecting in some measure 
 the whole of the attending class ; and on all sides the 
 improvement was manifest when the regular business 
 of the lecture session was brought to its close without 
 interruption, and the examinations conducted after- 
 ward in a more deliberate and effective way. 
 
 The foregoing changes for the better operation of 
 the College were accomplished by means of successive 
 trials, each of which had its share in the final result. 
 They covered, in all, a period of eighteen years ; and 
 in nearly every instance they were considered and 
 discussed for months before their adoption. They 
 were intended, for the most part, to establish a higher 
 standard of requirements for graduation, and to in-i 
 duce, by the knowledge of these requirements, a more 
 thorough preparation on the part of the student. But 
 this alone would not be sufficient. A College which 
 should rest satisfied with raising its demands upon the 
 candidate by increased severity of the examinations 
 would be obviously overlooking an important part of 
 its duty. It should also enlarge the extent and im- 
 prove the quality of its instruction ; since the legiti- 
 mate purpose of such an institution is not merely to 
 exclude incompetent persons from the profession, but 
 rather to provide those who enter it with the best op- 
 portunities for medical education. 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET 1 33 
 
 The faculty were fully alive to these considerations. 
 They felt that the annual college course was both too 
 short and too crowded for the proper instruction of the 
 class. This course was originally of four months' 
 duration ; namely, from the first of November to the 
 first of March. In 1847 it had been lengthened to 
 four months and a half, from the middle of October 
 to the first of March ; and in 1868 it was extended to 
 five months by beginning the lectures on the first of 
 October. But the matter to be treated in all the de- 
 partments continued to accumulate, until an increased 
 allotment for lectures and demonstrations was again 
 necessary. Moreover, there was a growing belief that 
 much of the instruction was compressed into too short 
 a time, and that it ought to be given in some way less 
 irksome and monotonous for the student. A series of 
 lectures on different subjects, closely followed hour 
 after hour throughout the day, can hardly fail to over- 
 tax the memory of the listener; and however assidu- 
 ous he may be, he cannot, under such a method, acquire 
 and retain all the needed information. This was an 
 additional reason for increasing the length of the col- 
 lege term. 
 
 In 1880 the faculty, in accordance with the report 
 of a committee, adopted the following resolutions : 
 
 "I. That it will be of great benefit to the students 
 to pursue their studies for seven months instead of, as 
 now, for five months. 
 
 II. That most of the chairs need more lectures, to 
 make their courses complete. 
 
134 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 III. That it will be for the advantage of the stu- 
 dents to attend fewer lectures a day, and to have more 
 time for clinical instruction and laboratory work. 
 
 IV. That in future the regular session shall com- 
 mence on the first of October in each year, and last for 
 seven months." 
 
 The graduating examinations had already been de- 
 ferred until after the close of the lectures, bringing the 
 date of commencement, under the new plan, to about 
 the middle of May. Thus the whole time spent in the 
 necessary work of an annual college course was now 
 seven and a half months, or nearly double its former 
 lengfth. 
 
 While the practical work of the College was en- 
 larged in these directions, some of its more formal re- 
 quirements were curtailed or abandoned. The custom 
 of delivering, in each department, an introductory 
 lecture at the beginning of the course gradually fell 
 into disuse. It occupied time which was becoming 
 every year more valuable for the main topics of in- 
 struction ; and it was dropped, by one professor after 
 another, as each deemed it expedient. But the gen- 
 eral Introductory Address, at the annual opening of the 
 session, survived longer. It was an entertainment in 
 which all were expected to take part ; the address 
 being delivered in the main lecture hall of the College, 
 with the professors, officers and trustees assembled on 
 the platform. The waning interest in this exercise 
 became manifest in various ways, and the honor of be- 
 ing selected as the orator of the occasion was more 
 
TWENTY-THIRD STREET. 1 35 
 
 commonly shunned than desired. But though nearly 
 all were in favor of its discontinuance, no one pos- 
 sessed the authority to set it aside. It had the nega- 
 tive vitality of a long-established custom, and it con- 
 tinued to exist by that reason alone. It was finally 
 abolished, in 1884, by an order of the Trustees in ac- 
 cordance with the recommendation of the faculty. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 
 T865-1887. 
 
 The changes in the faculty of the College, after 
 its removal to Twenty-third street, began with the 
 death of Dr. Chandler R. Gilman. For nearly two 
 years his failing health had interfered so much with 
 the duties of his profession, that he was induced to 
 give up practice in the city and retire to his country 
 home in Middletown, Connecticut. Here he found 
 relief from the more urgent symptoms of his dis- 
 order, with great increase of general comfort ; and 
 his death, which took place in September, 1865, was 
 without immediate premonition or physical suffering. 
 
 During the twenty-five years of Dr. Oilman's con- 
 nection with the College, he maintained with his as- 
 sociates the most cordial relations. He was a man of 
 the strongest individuality, great kindness of heart, a 
 quick sense of humor, and a remarkably companion- 
 able disposition. While not especially distinguished 
 for laborious industry, he was prompt to recognize 
 the progress of ideas in his own department of medi- 
 cine. He was an enthusiastic amateur of natural sci- 
 ence ; and in the field of Q^eneral literature his taste 
 and acquirements were more cultivated and more ex- 
 
CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 
 
 ^37 
 
 tensive than is usual witli professional men. His 
 opinions were liberal but pronounced ; and he knew 
 how to emphasize their expression by a narrative or 
 a witticism. His ample forehead, his keen and rest- 
 
 Chandler R. Oilman, M.D., 
 
 Professor of Obstetrics, 1841-1865. 
 
 From an engraved portrait by Ritchie, 
 
 1864. 
 
 less eye, and the flexible intonations of his voice 
 added to the zest of his conversation and to the im- 
 pressiveness of his style in the lecture room. The 
 sentiment of friendship was strongly developed in his 
 disposition ; and he would spare no pains to serve the 
 
138 CHANGES IN 
 
 memory ot a deceased colleague, or to further the 
 interests of his surviving family. 
 
 His published works were as follows : Hints to 
 the people on the prevention and early treatment of 
 Spasmodic Cholera, New York, 1832 ; hitroductory 
 Address to the students in Medicine of the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 1840; Maun- 
 sell's Dublin Practice of Midwifery, edited, with 
 Notes and Additions, New York, 1845 ; Periodic 
 Maturation and Discharge of Ova, in the Mamma- 
 lia and the Human Female. Translated from the 
 German of Th. L. G. Bischoff, by C. R. Gilman, 
 M.D., and Theodore Tellkampf, M.D., New York, 
 1847; Sketch of the Life and Character of John B. 
 Beck, M.D., New York, 1851 ; Beck's Lectures on 
 Materia Medica and Therapeutics. Prepared for the 
 press and dedicated to the Alumni of the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, by C. R. Gilman, M.D., 
 New York, 185 1 ; The Relations of the Medical to 
 the Legal Profession, an introductory address deliv- 
 ered at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New 
 York, 1856; A medico-legal exa7ninatio7t of the case 
 of Charles B. Huntingtoit, with remarks on moral 
 insanity and on the legal test of sanity. New York, 
 1857 ; Beck's Elements of Medical Jurisprudence, 
 eleventh edition. Revised and edited by C. R. Gil- 
 man, M.D., Philadelphia, i860. 
 
 Dr. Gilman's successor in the chair of obstetrics 
 was T. Gaillard Tho?nas, M.D., who had been pro- 
 fessor adjunct since 1864. He graduated at the 
 
THE FACULTY. T39 
 
 Medical College of South Carolina in 1852 ; becom- 
 ing' soon afterward a resident of New York and ac- 
 quiring- a reputation for unusual aptitude in both the 
 teaching and practice of obstetrics. He was for five 
 years a lecturer on this subject in the Medical De- 
 partment of the University of the City of New York, 
 and was equally successful in the instruction of pri- 
 vate pupils. As professor in the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons, his superiority became widely 
 known. After some years his attention was turned 
 more exclusively in the direction of gynecology, and 
 his weekly clinic for diseases of women made a most 
 attractive feature of the college course. In 1872 he 
 was relieved of the obstetrical portion of his duties by 
 the appointment of Dr. James W. McLane as pro- 
 fessor adjunct; and some years later the chair was 
 formally divided. Dr. Thomas becoming professor of 
 Gynecology and Dr. McLane professor of Obstetrics. 
 In 1882 Dr. Thomas resigned the didactic portion of 
 his chair and was made professor of Clinical Gyne- 
 cology, retaining the charge of his weekly clinic ; and 
 in 1885 the department was again completed by the 
 appointment of Dr. George M. Tuttle as professor 
 of Gynecology. Dr. Tuttle, who was a graduate of 
 the College in the class of 1880, had already served 
 as assistant to the professor of obstetrics and as 
 lecturer adjunct on gynecology. 
 
 The next chair to lose its incumbent was that of 
 materia medica, vacated in 1866 by the -death of pro- 
 fessor Joseph M. Smith, at the age of seventy-seven 
 
I40 CHANGES IN 
 
 years. ~ Dr. Smith had long been the senior member 
 of the faculty, having the unique distinction of a con- 
 tinuous service of forty years as professor in the Col- 
 lege. For the following session the lectures in this 
 department were delivered by Dr. Freeman J. Bum- 
 stead, who also lectured in the College on venereal 
 diseases. But in 1867-8 the course on materia med- 
 ica was given by Dr. ^ames W. McLane as lecturer ; 
 and in 1868 he was duly appointed professor. Dr. 
 McLane was an alumnus of 1864, having thus become 
 professor in the College after the unusually short 
 period of four years from the date of his graduation. 
 He retained this position until 1872, when he resigned 
 it to take part in the course on obstetrics, for which 
 subject he had a strong predilection. He was suc- 
 ceeded in the department of materia medica by Dr. 
 Edward Ctirtis, who was appointed lecturer in 1872 
 and professor in 1873. 
 
 Dr. Curtis graduated in medicine at the university 
 of Pennsylvania in 1864, and immediately afterward 
 entered the medical service of the army of the United 
 States as assistant surgeon. Here he continued for 
 some years, occupied mainly in the microscopical 
 section of the Army Medical Museum at Washington. 
 After resio-nino- his commission he established his 
 residence in New York, where he gave a series of 
 lectures in the College on histology, and was there- 
 upon selected to fill the vacant department of materia 
 medica. He discharged the duties of this chair with 
 distinguished ability for fourteen years, when the 
 
2HE FACULTY. I4I 
 
 pressure of other occupations induced him to withdraw 
 from active connection with the College. His place 
 was taken by Dr. George L. Peabody, an alumnus of 
 1873, who was appointed lecturer in 1886 and pro- 
 fessor in 1887. He was already visiting physician to 
 the New York Hospital, and had acquired a high 
 reputation as pathologist in the same institution. 
 
 The professor of anatomy, Dr. Robert Watts, died 
 in 1867, after a faithful service of twenty-eight years. 
 His chair was filled by the appointment of Dr. Heiiry 
 B. Sands, an alumnus of 1854, who had acted for some 
 years as Assistant Demonstrator and Demonstrator of 
 anatomy, and as lecturer adjunct on anatomy in the 
 preceding session. He continued in this professor- 
 ship until 1879, when he was transferred to the de- 
 partment of practical surgery, and Dr. Thomas T. 
 Sabine became professor of anatomy. Dr. Sabine 
 was an alumnus of 1864, and, like his predecessor, 
 had served as Assistant Demonstrator and Demon- 
 strator of anatomy. For eight years he had been 
 professor adjunct of anatomy, performing during that 
 time a considerable portion of the duties of the chair. 
 The extent and accuracy of his information, and his 
 ability and originality as a teacher, were manifested in 
 a variety of ways ; and the value of his instruction 
 was enhanced by many novel methods and ingenious 
 appliances. It may almost be said that he opened a 
 new field for demonstration in one of the most demon- 
 strative branches of medical science. 
 
 The chair of surgery became vacant in 1870 by 
 
142 CHANGES IN 
 
 the resienation of Dr. Willard Parker. This distin- 
 g'uished character, equally eminent as professor and 
 practitioner, was for thirty years the most notable 
 member of the college organization. Immediately on 
 his appointment in 1S40 his influence became felt 
 amonof his associates, and from that time forward he 
 was a leader in all measures for the support or ad- 
 vancement of the institution. He originated the col- 
 lege clinics in 1841. In company with Dr. Watts he 
 secured for the College, by purchase from its former 
 owner, an important part of the existing anatomical 
 museum. He was instrumental, in 1850, in throwing 
 open to students the clinical advantages of Bellevue 
 Hospital, where he was attending surgeon. He was 
 one of the founders of the Pathological Society and of 
 the Academy of Medicine, and he served as presiding 
 officer in both institutions. He urged and aided, 
 against many serious obstacles, the removal of the 
 College to Twenty-third street ; and for twenty years 
 afterward he carried upon his own shoulders the 
 greater part of its financial responsibilities. With a 
 robust and active frame, great mental fortitude, and a • 
 hopeful and enterprising disposition, he had the faculty 
 of communicating to others a portion of his own im- 
 pulsive energy. He was not given to elaborate re- 
 search, nor versed in the minutiae of medical literature. 
 But he possessed the ready judgment and intelligent 
 self-reliance of a skilful practitioner; and in cases of 
 doubt or difficulty he was a tower of strength to his 
 patients and his colleagues. In the lecture room 
 
THE FACULTY. 
 
 H3 
 
 his language was simple, direct and appropriate ; and 
 its meaning was often reinforced by a homely or ex- 
 pressive illustration. His pupils always retained, in 
 
 WiLLARD Parker, M.D., 
 
 Professor of Surgery, 1 840-1 870. 
 
 From a portrait in the possession of the College, painted by Huntington in 
 
 1871. 
 
 after years, a vivid remembrance of his commanding 
 form, his genial manners, and his sound and practical 
 instruction. 
 
 After relinquishing his didactic lectures Dr. Parker 
 
144 CHANGES IN 
 
 accepted the professorship of CHnical Surger)^ which 
 he held for ten years longer, often taking a considera- 
 ble part in the work of clinical teaching. In 1872 he 
 was elected a member of the Board of Trustees, and 
 afterward vice-president of the College ; and to the 
 end of his life he continued to manifest his regard for 
 the institution and his warm interest in its welfare. 
 He died in 1884, at the age of eighty-four years. 
 
 Notwithstanding Dr. Parker's resignation there 
 was no interruption of the surgical professorship, 
 which for ten years had been partly in charge of Dr. 
 Thomas M. Markoe, as professor adjunct. He was 
 an alumnus of 1841, and had long occupied a high 
 rank in the profession ; and on the occurrence of the 
 nominal vacancy in 1870, he was created professor of 
 Surgery. He delivered the lectures of this depart- 
 ment until 1879, when the chair was divided; Dr. 
 Markoe continuing as professor of the Principles of 
 Surgery, and Dr. Sands becoming professor of the 
 Practice of Surgery. This arrangement answered for 
 some years the growing requirements of the sufgical 
 chair; but in 1886 a further provision was made by 
 the appointment of additional lecturers. Dr. William 
 T. Bull, an alumnus of 1872, and attending surgeon 
 to the New York Hospital, was appointed lecturer 
 adjunct on the Practice of Surgery ; and Dr. Richard 
 y. Hall, an alumnus of 1878, and attending surgeon 
 to St. Luke's Hospital, became lecturer adjunct on the 
 Principles of Surgery. Both these gentlemen dis- 
 charged the duties assigned them during the following 
 
THE FACULTY. 145 
 
 session ; and in 1887 they were appointed professors 
 adjunct in their respective departments. 
 
 In 1876 the professorship of chemistry changed 
 hands owing to the death of Dr. St. John, who for 
 ten years had performed the duties of the chair with 
 assiduous fidelity. He was devoted to his subject, 
 which he taught in a clear and simple style, according 
 to established rnethods. His intellectual and moral 
 integrity led him to avoid all doubtful or unnecessary 
 statements ; and he never failed to distinguish be- 
 tween his actual and his theoretical knowledge. An 
 interested student of nature in all its departments, he 
 was especially fond of astronomy ; and his private ob- 
 servatory, equipped with a transit instrument and an 
 equatorial telescope, was for many years his favorite 
 means of scientific recreation. His modest and truth- 
 ful nature, and his unselfish disposition, gave him 
 a strong hold on the regard and confidence of his 
 brother professors. 
 
 The chair of chemistry was then filled by Dr. 
 Charles F. Chandler, who had been professor adjunct 
 since 1872. He was also professor of the same de- 
 partment in the School of Mines of Columbia College, 
 in which he had been actively interested since its 
 organization. He was educated at the Lawrence 
 Scientific School of Harvard University and at the 
 University of Gottingen ; and he had received the 
 honorary degree of M.D. from the Universit)- of the 
 City of New York. He was thoroughly familiar with 
 the modern developments of scientific and technical 
 
146 CHANGES IN 
 
 chemistry, and could present them to his audience in 
 an especially interesting and instructive way. 
 
 In pathology and practical medicine, Dr. Clark was 
 relieved from a portion of his labors in 1876 by Dr. 
 Francis Delajield, an alumnus of 1863, and the son of 
 Dr. Edward Delafield, former president of the College. 
 He shared the duties of the chair, as professor ad- 
 junct, until. 1882, when he received the full appoint- 
 ment of professor in this department. 
 
 The chair of physiology was supplemented in 18/6 
 by Dr. JoJui G. Cttrtis as professor adjunct. Dr. 
 Curtis was an alumnus of 1870, and a brother of Dr. 
 Edward Curtis, the professor of materia medica ; and 
 he had served as Assistant Demonstrator and Demon- 
 strator of anatomy from 1871 to 1875. He continued 
 in charge of various portions of the physiological 
 course, showing eminent ability in the arrangement 
 and application of experimental methods, until 1883, 
 when Dr. Dalton resigned the professorship and Dr. 
 Curtis was appointed to the chair of physiology. 
 
 Beside this renovation in the membership of the 
 faculty, there were other changes, of equal importance, 
 in the distribution of subjects and in the mode of pro- 
 viding for appointments. 
 
 Among the most noticeable of these changes was 
 the increase in the number of instructors officially at- 
 tached to the institution. Owing to the greater va- 
 riety and prominence of the college clinics it was 
 ■deemed advisable, in 1869, to establish a new grade 
 of teachers under the name of Clinical Professors ; 
 
THE FACULTY. 147 
 
 each of whom should be in charge of his special clinic, 
 with such subordinates and assistants as he might re- 
 quire. At first only three such appointments were 
 made ; but others were soon added to the list, and in 
 1883 there were six clinical professors, beside the 
 " professor of clinical gynecology," Dr. Thomas, and 
 the " professor of clinical medicine," Dr. Draper. 
 
 Moreover there was a tendency, in the didactic de- 
 partments, to subdivision of the chairs ; gynecology 
 being separated from obstetrics in 1879, and the prac- 
 tice of surgery from the principles of surgery in the same 
 year. This was due to the general movement toward 
 specialization, as well as to the growth of material and 
 the increased requirements for instruction in every 
 branch of medicine. It was a further continuation of 
 what had been slowly going on for many years. In 
 former times widely different subjects had been often 
 entrusted to the same teacher. In the session of 
 1807-8 the professor of materia medica and botany 
 also lectured on surgery and midwifery ; and in that 
 of 1811-12 Dr. Hosack, who was professor of the 
 *' Theory and Practice of Physic and Clinical Medi- 
 cine," also gave the lectures on midwifery and the dis- 
 eases of women and children. From 1808 to 18 14 
 Dr. John Augustine Smith was professor of "Anatomy 
 and Surgery ; " and at the reorganization of the Col- 
 lege in 1826 he was appointed professor of "i\natomy 
 and Physiology." In 1847, when the number of profes- 
 sorships was increased from six to seven, physiology 
 was associated with pathology; and even after beino- 
 
148 CHANGES IN 
 
 recognized as a distinct branch in 1855, it still carried 
 with it for several years the added title of " microsco- 
 pic anatomy." The occasional redistribution of sub- 
 jects, which took place during this time, was partly in 
 accordance with the preferences or qualifications of in- 
 dividual professors ; but as a rule it was in the direc- 
 tion of further subdivision of the chairs. 
 
 For instruction in the dissecting room, beside the 
 Demonstrator of anatomy there were successively 
 added a First and Second Assistant Demonstrator ; 
 and the Director of the Physiological and Pathologi- 
 cal Laboratory was also provided with assistants, as 
 their services became requisite. There were further- 
 more, recognized and approved by the College, teach- 
 ers for private classes in various practical and demon- 
 strative branches. In the annual catalogues, the list 
 of those connected with the regular college instruction 
 increased from nine or ten to more than twenty ; and 
 the " clinical assistants," occupied in the necessary 
 work of the college clinics, two in number in 1858, 
 amounted to thirty in 1883. 
 
 Lastly it became a practice, during this period, to 
 appoint professors adju7ict, without waiting for ^ctual 
 vacancies in the faculty. It was usually done at the 
 instance of the regular professor, who named for the po- 
 sition some one whom he believed to possess the req- 
 uisite ability. If acceptable to his colleagues, the can- 
 didate was recommended to the Trustees for appoint- 
 ment as " Lecturer adjunct ; " and, if approved at the 
 end of a year, he was appointed " Professor adjunct." 
 
THE FACULTY. 1 49 
 
 He was then assigned such portion of the lectures as 
 the senior professor might determine, their number 
 being usually increased from time to time ; and on the 
 resignation of the senior professor he became, of 
 course, the most prominent candidate for the chair. 
 Of the nine professors appointed subsequently to 
 1858, six had already served as professors adjunct for 
 periods varying from two to ten years. 
 
 This custom was not established by any formal 
 action of the faculty, and was not considered as obli- 
 gatory on the professors ; but it had such obvious 
 advantages that it was readily adopted whenever 
 circumstances made it desirable and possible. The 
 annual course of instruction in a great medical school 
 is too important a matter to be left to the daily 
 chances of life and health. The professor in a given 
 department may at any time be disabled by illness or 
 accident, to the temporary interruption of his course ; 
 and either his' death or resignation may occur unex- 
 pectedly, from causes which are not foreseen. In any 
 event there should be a candidate ready to fill his 
 place, who has the necessary personal and professional 
 qualities, and whose capacity as a teacher is not alto- 
 gether untried. When such provision has been made 
 beforehand, it adds greatly to the strength of the in- 
 stitution. Moreover, the senior professor can often 
 relinquish with advantage a part of his duties ; and 
 the new incumbent has the benefit of a more gradual 
 preparation for his future work. 
 
 The president of the College, Dr. Edward Dela- 
 
150 CHANGES IN 
 
 FIELD, continued in office from his election in 1858 
 until his death in 1875 ; during which time he accom- 
 plished much for the advancement of the institution. 
 He effected, in i860, its withdrawal from the imme- 
 diate authority of the Regents of the University, 
 and its union on the present basis with Columbia Col- 
 lege. He took an active part in forming the Alumni 
 Association. His signature headed the list on the call 
 for its first meeting, to be held at his own residence ; 
 and five years afterward he made from his private 
 means the first move toward establishing the Prize 
 Fund of the association. A graduate of the College 
 within the first ten years of its existence, appointed 
 professor at its reorganization in 1826, elected a mem- 
 ber of its Board of Trustees in 1839, and administering 
 its affairs as president for the unusually long period of 
 seventeen years, he may be said to have followed its 
 fortunes and taken an interest in its welfare for more 
 than half a century. He was always zealous for its 
 reputation and earnestly devoted to. its prosperity. 
 
 Dr. Alonzo Clark, the ninth president of the 
 College, was elected in 1875, while still occupying 
 the chair of pathology and practical medicine. Dur- 
 ing the whole time of his service as professor the 
 growth of his reputation had been uninterrupted ; and 
 among the alumni of the College, the hospital internes 
 and the profession at large, he was long regarded as 
 the first consulting practitioner in the city. He seemed 
 to attain this position without striving for it, by the 
 sole influence of his unobtrusive but substantial merit. 
 
THE FACULTY. 151 
 
 With an integrity and impartiality that were pro- 
 verbial, he was equally well known for his assiduity 
 and precision in the pursuit of knowledge. He was 
 an active member of the Pathological Society, where 
 he surpassed all others in the number and variety of 
 his contributions ; and in the Academy of Medicine 
 few speakers could command more respectful and 
 earnest attention. His largest field of activity was 
 Bellevue Hospital, where he was attending physician 
 for thirty years, and where he found his most abun- 
 dant material for clinical study and instruction. In 
 his methods he was industrious, critical and conserva- 
 tive ; resorting to every available source of informa- 
 tion, and examining with the same caution the con- 
 clusions of other observers and his own. In him, the 
 scientific and practical elements were closely combined ; 
 and so long as he continued in the practice of his pro- 
 fession, he never gave up the use of his microscope, 
 his test-tube and his library. 
 
 After a service of nine years Dr. Clark found his 
 physical powers inadequate to the formal duties of his 
 position, and in 1884 he resigned the presidency. It 
 was filled by the election of Dr. Dalton, who had re- 
 tired from his professorship in the previous year. 
 
 Owing to the above changes the constitution of 
 the faculty again became a new one, as follows : 
 
152 CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 
 
 THE FACULTY IN 1 88/. 
 
 John C. Dalton, M.D,, President. 
 Thomas M. Markoe, M.D., Professor of the Princi- 
 ples of Surgery. 
 Henry B. Sands, M.D., Professor of the Practice of 
 
 Surgery. 
 James W. McLane, M.D., Professor of Obstetrics and 
 
 the Diseases of Children. 
 Thomas T. Sabine, M.D., Professor of Anatomy. 
 Charles F. Chandler, M.D., Professor of Chemistry. 
 Francis Delafield, M.D., Professor of Pathology 
 
 and Practical Medicine. 
 John G. Curtis, M.D., Professor of Physiology. 
 George M. Tuttle, M.D., Professor of Gynecology. 
 George L. Peabody, M.D., Professor of Materia 
 
 Medica and Therapeutics. 
 William T. Bull, M.D., Professor adjunct of the 
 
 Practice of Surgery. 
 Richard J. Hall, M.D,, Professor adjunct of the 
 
 Principles of Sttrgery. 
 
 And the following Clinical Professors : 
 T. Gaillard Thomas, M.D., Clinical Gynecology. 
 William H. Draper, M.D., Clinical Medicine. 
 Cornelius R. Agnew, M.D., Diseases of the Eye and 
 
 Ear. 
 Abraham Jacobi, M.D., Diseases of Children. 
 Fessenden N. Otis, M.D,, Venereal Diseases. 
 Edward C. Seguin, M,D., Diseases of the Nervous 
 
 System. 
 George M. Lefferts, M.D., Laryngology. 
 George H. Fox, M.D., Diseases of the Skin. 
 Robert F. Weir, M.D., Clinical Surgery. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS TO THE COLLEGE. 
 1875-1886. 
 
 Beside the gifts and bequests already mentioned, 
 made to the College or to the Alumni as special en- 
 dowments for prize funds or lectureships, there were 
 others of more extensive application and intended for 
 more general purposes. 
 
 The first was a bequest from Dr. John McClel- 
 land, a former graduate of the College. He was the 
 son of a farmer in Saratoga county, New York, where, 
 during the earlier part of his life, he followed his 
 father's occupation. But he was bent on acquiring an 
 education ; and although he only began to carry this 
 design into effect after attaining his majority, he then 
 applied himself to it with such success that in due time 
 he entered at Union College, Schenectady, where he 
 received the degree ofA.B. in 1832. After complet- 
 ing his academic course at this institution, he pursued 
 the study of medicine with the same perseverance ; 
 graduating at the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 in 1838, at the age of thirty-three years. Not long 
 afterward he was placed in charge of the city Lunatic 
 Asylum on Blackwell's Island, where he remained four 
 years; and in 1845-6 he was the Resident Physician 
 
154 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 
 
 of Bellevue Hospital, an office including the whole re- 
 sponsibility of the medical superintendence and admin- 
 istration of the hospital as it then was. He subse- 
 quently practised his profession in the city, devoting 
 himself to its duties with extreme assiduity for nearly 
 thirty years. He was liberal and considerate toward 
 his patients, and always friendly and generous in his 
 intercourse with younger practitioners. Though never 
 distinguished for a very extensive or lucrative practice, 
 by continuous industry and prudent management of 
 his affairs he gradually acquired a handsome compe- 
 tence ; leaving at his death in 1875 an estate of nearly 
 ninety thousand dollars. 
 
 Dr. McClelland always retained a warm regard 
 for the institutions where he had received his aca- 
 demic and professional education ; and in his will, 
 executed two years before his death, he made be- 
 quests of equal value to Union College and to the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons. The latter be- 
 quest was in two equal portions, one of which was 
 given to the College proper, the other to the Associ- 
 ation of Alumni; "to be used, in their several dis- 
 cretions, towards advancing professional education by 
 establishing free scholarships, the purchasing of med- 
 ical apparatus and books for libraries, or aiding in the 
 erection of buildings for their accommodation and 
 convenience respectively." At the final settlement of 
 the estate in 1884 the amount realized from this be- 
 quest by the College and the Alumni Association was 
 a little over Fifteen Thousand dollars each. 
 
TO THE COLLEGE. 1 55 
 
 In 1883 Mr. James T. Swift, of the city of New 
 York, made a gift of Ten Thousand dollars for the 
 equipment and maintenance in the College of a phy- 
 siological cabinet, in memory of his late brother, Fos- 
 ter Swift, M.D., a graduate of the year 1857. Dr. 
 Swift was one of the most promising men of his time ; 
 and with prolonged life and health he would have 
 risen to a high rank in the profession. His amiable 
 disposition, attractive person, and engaging manners, 
 no less than his ready aptitude and quick intelligence, 
 made him a favorite with all, and opened before him 
 a sure prospect of success. He served in the College 
 as assistant to the professor of obstetrics from 1861 
 to 1865, and became attending physician to St. Luke's 
 Hospital, the Nursery and Child's Hospital, and the 
 Woman's Hospital. He was subsequently clinical 
 professor of diseases of the skin in the Bellevue 
 Hospital Medical College, and lastly professor of ob- 
 stetrics in the Long Island College Hospital, Brook- 
 lyn. It was this department to which he was espe- 
 cially devoted, and in which he showed the highest 
 promise of future eminence. But the symptoms of 
 commencing phthisis compelled him to relinquish its 
 duties ; and after resorting to various climates in the 
 hope of regaining his health, he died at the island of 
 Santa Cruz, in 1875, at the age of forty-two years. 
 
 His brother, Mr. James T. Swift, wished to estab- 
 lish in his honor a permanent memorial, Avhich should 
 be useful to the College and subservient to medical 
 education and research. With this object he created 
 
156 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 
 
 the fund known as the Foster Swift Memorial Fund ; 
 to be used for the purchase and safe-keeping of the 
 " more expensive, deHcate, and complicated instru- 
 ments and appliances, mainly instruments of precision, 
 requisite for the pursuit of physiological science." 
 This collection, designated as the Swift Physiological 
 Cabijiet, was to be kept in a special apartment, for 
 the use and under the immediate charge of the pro- 
 fessor of physiology. As there were then no proper 
 accommodations for such a collection in the college 
 building, the fund was placed at interest until the time 
 should arrive when a new building could be obtained 
 and a suitable apartment appropriated therein for the 
 purpose required. 
 
 This object, which had become on all sides a pres- 
 sing necessity, was realized sooner than was antici- 
 pated ; for in the following year the College received 
 the most ample donation ever made to a medical 
 school in the United States. In October, 1884, Mr. 
 William Henry Vanderbilt crave to the institution the 
 land which it now occupies, comprising nearly half the 
 block between Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth streets, Ninth 
 and Tenth Avenues ; and a fund of Three Hundred 
 Thousand dollars for the erection thereon of new 
 buildings. As the cost of the land was Two Hundred 
 Thousand dollars, the value of the whole donation was 
 half a million. 
 
 In his letter announcing the gift, Mr. Vanderbilt 
 says : 
 
 " I have been for some time examining the ques- 
 
TO THE COLLEGE. 1 57 
 
 tion of the facilities for medical education which New 
 York possesses. The doctors have claimed that with 
 proper encouragement this city might become one of 
 the most important centres of medical instruction in 
 the world. 
 
 "The health, comfort and lives of the whole com- 
 munity are so dependent upon skilled physicians that 
 no profession requires more care in the preparation of 
 its practitioners. Medicine needs a permanent home 
 where the largest opportunities can be afforded for 
 both theory and practice. In making up my mind to 
 give substantial aid to the effort to create in New 
 York city one of the first medical schools in the world, 
 I have been somewhat embarrassed as to the manner 
 in which the object could be most quickly and effect- 
 ively reached. It seems wiser and more practical to 
 enlarge an existing institution which has already great 
 facilities, experience and reputation than to form a new 
 one. I have therefore selected the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons because it is the oldest medical 
 school in the State, and of equal rank with any in the 
 United States. 
 
 " I have decided to give to the College Five hun- 
 dred thousand dollars, of which I have expended Two 
 hundred thousand dollars in the purchase of twenty- 
 nine lots situated at Tenth Avenue and 59th and 60th 
 streets, the deed of which please find herewith, and 
 in selecting their location I have consulted with your 
 treasurer. Dr. J. W. McLane. The other three hun- 
 dred please find enclosed my check for. The latter 
 
158 
 
 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 
 
 sum is to form a building fund for the erection thereon, 
 
 from time to time, of suitable buildings for the Col- 
 
 1 " 
 leee. 
 
 Mr. Vanderbilt's personal history was one of grad- 
 
 WiLLiAM Henry Vandkrbilt. 
 
 From a bust in the possession of the College, 
 
 modelled from life by Mr. J. Q. A. Ward, 
 
 1SS5. 
 
 ual but continuous development of a high order ot 
 business capacity. Nearly twenty years of his early 
 life were spent in the cultivation of his farm on Staten 
 Island, which he enlarged and improved until it yielded 
 
TO THE COLLEGE. 159 
 
 a handsome revenue. Becoming interested in the af- 
 fairs of a local railroad, he proved equally successful in 
 its management; and in 1865 he was adopted by his 
 father, Cornelius Vanderbilt, as aid and adviser in 
 the railroad system under his control. In this wider 
 sphere of occupation his ability was soon manifest to 
 all ; and he finally became the successor to his father's 
 business responsibilities, as well as the principal heir 
 to his wealth. Under his steady application and prac- 
 tical judgment both of these were greatly increased ; 
 and for many years he exercised a controlling influence 
 in the development and extension of railroad interests 
 in the United States. 
 
 In his expenditures he was liberal and unostenta- 
 tious. With but few tastes for personal indulgence, 
 he wished that whatever he had should be the best of 
 its kind. In his stable were the fleetest trotting horses 
 in the country, and his picture gallery contained many 
 works by the first artists of the century. His simple 
 and large-minded , disposition was evinced in both his 
 public and private benefactions. In 1880 he furnished 
 one hundred thousand dollars for the transportation 
 to this country of the Egyptian obelisk now standing 
 in Central Park ; and so quietly was it done that the 
 monument was placed in position before the public 
 were aware by whom the necessary funds had been 
 supplied. Four years later he advanced to General 
 Grant a loan of one hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
 lars, to relieve what was thought to be a temporary 
 embarrassment. But when it turned out to be irre- 
 
l6o GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 
 
 trievable ruin, due to the unsuspected dishonesty of a 
 business partner, General Grant insisted upon giving 
 up to Mr. Vanderbilt all the real estate which he pos- 
 sessed, while Mr. Vanderbilt as persistently en- 
 deavored to cancel the debt. Failino- to overcome 
 the scruples of his distinguished debtor, he consented 
 to a generous compromise ; accepting, in full discharge 
 of the obligation, General Grant's collection of military 
 relics, medals and trophies, which he at once presented 
 to the government at Washington, to be held as the 
 property of the nation. 
 
 At the time of making his donation to the College, 
 Mr. Vanderbilt was sixty-three years of age, and had 
 retired in great measure from active business. His 
 family physician was the professor of obstetrics in the 
 College, Dr. McLane, for whom he entertained a 
 strong feeling of friendship, and upon whose judg- 
 ment in medical matters he was accustomed fully to 
 rely. His first intention was to have given a sum 
 sufficient to rebuild on the location of the Twenty-third 
 street property ; but he soon felt that this would be an 
 injudicious policy, and decided to enlarge the gift so 
 that the institution might be removed to some point 
 more in keeping with the continuous growth of the 
 city. Nearly a year was spent in inquiries and exami- 
 nations with this object before the land at Fifty-ninth 
 street was secured and the deed executed. All the 
 preliminary negotiations were conducted by Dr. Mc 
 Lane, and the property even remained in his hands 
 for six months thereafter, until it could be legally trans- 
 
TO THE COLLEGE. l6l 
 
 ferred to the College. By a provision in its charter, 
 the institution could hold property only to the amount 
 of One Hundred and Fifty Thousand dollars ; and it 
 was necessary to apply to the legislature for an amend- 
 ment relieving it from this restriction. The amend- 
 ment was granted by an act passed April 17th, 1885 ; 
 whereupon the land and the building fund were for- 
 mally placed in the possession of the College. 
 
 But Mr. Vanderbilt was not destined to witness 
 the completion of his munificent enterprise. Though 
 in the apparent enjoyment of health and vigor, his 
 tissues were undergoing the insidious change which 
 prepares them for cerebral hemorrhage ; and on the 
 eighth of December, 1885, little more than a year 
 from the date of his benefaction, he was stricken down 
 by an apoplectic attack so sudden and overwhelming 
 that his death was nearly instantaneous. Less than 
 three hours before, he had finished his last sitting for 
 the portrait bust now standing in the main hall of the 
 College. 
 
 Not long after the death of Mr. Vanderbilt his 
 plans for the enlargement of the College were ex- 
 tended in additional directions by the surviving mem- 
 bers of his family. They appreciated the far-reaching 
 value of an endowment which, by increasing the fa- 
 cilities for medical education, provided for the more 
 intelligent and successful treatment of disease ; and 
 early in the following year they founded two new and 
 important institutions, to be engrafted on the college 
 organization. 
 
1 62 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS 
 
 In January, 1886, a communication was received 
 from Mr. and Mrs. William D. Sloane, the son-in- 
 law and the daughter of Mr. Vanderbilt, proposing to 
 erect and endow, on the college grounds, a lying-in 
 asylum, to be known as the " Sloane Maternity Hos- 
 pital of the College of Physicians and Surgeons." 
 The plan for this establishment, which was at once 
 approved and accepted by the Trustees of the Col- 
 lege, included the construction of the hospital by Mr. 
 Sloane, its transfer to the Board of Trustees as the 
 property of the College, and its endowment by Mrs. 
 Sloane for the maintenance of thirty free beds for its 
 inmates. A plot of land, seventy-five feet by one 
 hundred, on the southwest corner of the college 
 oTounds, at Fifty-ninth street and Tenth Avenue, was 
 appropriated for its use. Its administration was en- 
 trusted to a board of five managers, consisting of the 
 president of the College, Mr. Sloane or his represent- 
 ative, a member of the Board of Trustees, and two 
 members of the Faculty. The service of the hospital 
 was to be directed by the professor of obstetrics in 
 the College, with a resident staff appointed from its 
 alumni ; and under their supervision the members of. 
 each graduating class were to attend in turn upon the 
 cases of midwifery occurring in the institution. This 
 unique establishment was welcomed by all, as a most 
 valuable addition to a department heretofore extremely 
 limited in the means of practical instruction. 
 
 During the past twenty years the growth of the 
 climes had been one of the principal reasons why 
 
TO THE COLLEGE. 1 63 
 
 more space and accommodation were required for the 
 College. It appeared likely that in its new location 
 this growth would be still greater ; and it became a 
 question whether the clinical department should not 
 have an establishment of its own, apart from the di- 
 dactic and laboratory instruction in the college build- 
 ing. The advantages of such a plan were obvious ; 
 and in April, 1886, it was placed on a practical footing 
 by the four sons of Mr. Vanderbilt, namely, Corne- 
 lius, William K., Frederick W., and George W. 
 Vanderbilt. Together they contributed a sum of 
 Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand dollars for the 
 erection and maintenance, in connection with the Col- 
 lege, of a free Dispensary, as a special tribute to their 
 father's memory, and as a fitting testimonial of their 
 sympathy with his designs. 
 
 This institution was to bear the name of the 
 "Vanderbilt Clinic of the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons." It was assigned a location, seventy-five 
 feet by one hundred, on the northwest corner of the 
 college grounds, at Tenth Avenue and Sixtieth street. 
 The building and its appurtenances were to be the 
 property of the College ; and its board of management, 
 like that of the Sloane Maternity, consisted of the 
 president of the College, a representative of the 
 donors, a member of the Board of Trustees, and two 
 members of the Faculty. It provided, in the most 
 liberal and permanent way, for the medical and surgi- 
 cal treatment of out-door patients, for the necessary 
 accommodation of the clinical professors, and for all 
 
164 GIFTS AND BEQUESTS TO THE COLLEGE. 
 
 the general and special clinical instruction in the 
 College. 
 
 By these means, within two years' time, the 
 opportunities possessed by the institution for the 
 enlargement of its teaching capacity were increased 
 five fold. Beside the provision for more spacious and 
 convenient buildings, the amount of land was so ample 
 as to leave a considerable surplus, over and above what 
 was required for their immediate location. This was 
 regarded as one of the most valuable features of the 
 new domain. It was felt by all concerned that the 
 progress in medical education, which had been going 
 on so rapidly for a quarter of a century, would 
 undoubtedly continue ; and that the next twenty-five 
 years would bring with them additional demands, the 
 exact nature of which could not be anticipated. Ex- 
 perience had shown that a building of limited con- 
 struction, however ample for the purposes of the 
 time, will become insufficient when new methods are 
 adopted, or new departments added to the old. But 
 with part of the college grounds yet unoccupied, the 
 needs of the future can be left to their own develop- 
 ment, to be provided for as they may arise in the time 
 to come. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN FIFTY-NINTH STREET. 
 1887-1888. 
 
 Soon after the purchase of the land at Fifty-ninth 
 street, preparations were set on foot for beginning the 
 work of construction. A Building Committee was 
 appointed from the Board of Trustees, to cooperate 
 with a committee of the Faculty and to report upon 
 suitable architectural plans for a new college build- 
 ing. 
 
 The matter was at once taken into consideration, 
 and on the eighth of April, 1885, the committee re- 
 ported a general plan, including the location, size, 
 shape, character of construction and approximate cost 
 of the new building, with a recommendation that the 
 cellar excavation be proceeded with immediately. 
 The building was to front on Fifty-ninth street, ex- 
 tending thence, across the college grounds, to Six- 
 tieth street. Subsequently the location of the Sloane 
 Maternity Hospital was fixed at the corner of Fifty- 
 ninth street and Tenth Avenue, and that of the Van- 
 derbilt Clinic at Tenth Avenue and Sixtieth street ; 
 thus providing ample space for light and air around 
 each building. 
 
 The college grounds, like most of the land in that 
 
t66 
 
 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
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 or 
 
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 -1 
 
 
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 t^a-gj%?'i,Sj^^? 
 
 
 TENTH AVENUE 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET I 67 
 
 vicinity, consisted mainly of the ledge rock, in many 
 places showing above the surface, and nowhere cov- 
 ered by more than a few feet of earth. This feature 
 of the locality, while it had its advantages, required a 
 considerable expenditure of time and labor in the work 
 of excavation ; and it was thought desirable to expe- 
 dite the construction of the building, by preparing the 
 ground beforehand while the architectural plans were 
 in progress. The recommendations of the committee 
 were adopted by the Board ; and the necessary ex- 
 cavation, which included 8,920 cubic yards of rock and 
 1,257 cubic yards of earth, was begun in May and fin- 
 ished in September, 1885. The cost of this work was 
 a little less than Fifteen Thousand dollars. 
 
 Meanwhile the plans for the superstructure of the 
 proposed building were under discussion. Much con- 
 sultation was required to determine the needs of the 
 various departments and the distribution of space 
 most serviceable for the general purposes of the insti- 
 tution. It was not until January, 1886, that the com- 
 mittee was enabled to report to the Trustees fully 
 detailed plans, with specifications and estimates of 
 cost, suitable for recommendation to the Board. 
 This report and its recommendations were approved 
 and adopted at the same meeting, and the committee 
 was empowered to complete the building contracts 
 in accordance therewith. 
 
 Under this authority the foundations of the build- 
 ing were commenced March 19, 1886, the earliest 
 day of the season at which it was thought safe to 
 
i68 
 
 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 _ K 
 
FIFTY^NINTH STREET. 169 
 
 begfin masonry work. The foundations were com- 
 pleted during the following month ; and when the 
 basement walls were about half way up, the corner 
 stone was laid, under the auspices of the building 
 committee, on Saturday, April 24th, 1886, 
 
 The exercises on this occasion were opened with 
 prayer from the Rev. Sullivan H. Weston, D.D., 
 Trustee and Chaplain of the College. A leaden box, 
 containing catalogues and other documents relating 
 to the institution, was then deposited in a cavity in the 
 basement wall at the southeast corner of the building, 
 and covered by the granite corner stone, which was 
 lowered into position, guided by the hands of Mr. 
 George W. Vanderbilt. This ceremony was followed 
 by an address from the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew. 
 There was a large attendance, consisting of the Trus- 
 tees, Faculty, Alumni and other friends of the institu- 
 tion, beside the medical class who were present in a 
 body. 
 
 Subsequently the work proceeded without serious 
 interruption ; but the substantial character of the 
 building required a liberal allowance of time for its 
 construction. The walls and roof were completed by 
 December. The interior work went on during the 
 succeeding months ; and the building was made ready 
 and inaugurated with appropriate exercises on Thurs- 
 day, September 29th, 1887. The annual college ses- 
 sion was opened on the following Monday. 
 
 The college edifice consists of three connected 
 structures ; namely, a main building, fronting on 
 
170 
 
 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 60+*^ 5 -J- REET 
 
 JANITORS 
 
 APART 
 
 MENTS 
 
 PROFESSOR." 
 
 or I 
 
 CHEMISTRY 
 
 CHEMICAL 
 
 LABORATORY 
 
 APPARATUS 
 
 JX 
 
 COLLEGE BUILDING 
 
 FIRST STORY 
 PLAN 
 
 lUi 
 
 ^f/?, 
 
 ■f^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 
 LECTURE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ROOM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 »-■ 
 
 
 
 eJ 
 
 
 H'^^ 
 
 5TUD Y 
 RD n M 
 
 I BONE ROOM I I COAT 
 
 COAT RDDM 
 
 RECEPTION 
 ROOM 
 
 TRUSTEES 
 
 A NH 
 
 FACULTY 
 
 .5^th ST RECT -• 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. . 171 
 
 Fifty-ninth street, containing offices, museums, study 
 and recitation rooms, professors' rooms, and the de- 
 partment of practical anatomy ; a middle building oc- 
 cupying the central part of the grounds, in which are 
 the main stairway hall, the lecture room, the amphi- 
 theatre, and the rear stairway ; and a north building 
 or laboratory wing, facing Sixtieth street, containing 
 the janitor's quarters, the chemical laboratories, and 
 the laboratories of the Alumni Association. Outside, 
 and adjacent to the middle building on the east, are 
 the boiler house, and a one-story laboratory annex ; 
 and near by a carriage house, with rooms on the 
 second floor for the accommodation of employees. 
 All three buildings are of brick and terra cotta, fur- 
 nished in various parts with granite sill-courses, lintels, 
 quoins an,d copings. 
 
 The Fifty-ninth street building is one hundred 
 and forty feet long, and forty-three feet deep ; of four 
 stories above the basement, and sixty-six feet in 
 height, from the curb to the roof cornice. On the 
 first floor, the main entrance leads into a central hall, 
 sixteen feet wide and fourteen feet high, with trans- 
 verse corridors extending east and west. Opening 
 on the west corridor are the students' reception room, 
 fifteen feet by twenty-eight, a study room, twenty- 
 eight feet by thirty-six, and a cabinet of osteology, 
 from which students are supplied with parts of the 
 skeleton, or with separate bones, for examination. 
 On the east corridor are the offices of the clerk and 
 secretary, and an apartment for the meetings of the 
 
172 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
fifty-ninth: street 173 
 
 Trustees and Faculty. The door of the coat room 
 opens on the main hall, a little beyond the crossing" of 
 the corridors ; and immediately adjacent is the stairway 
 leading- to the students' toilet room in the basement. 
 
 On the second floor is the college museum, a room 
 thirty feet by forty-three, in the centre of the build- 
 ing. The lateral corridors lead to the private rooms 
 of the professors of anatomy, surgery, medicine, ob- 
 stetrics and gynecology. The third floor is occupied, 
 in the centre by the Swift physiological cabinet, on 
 the west side by the working rooms of the depart- 
 ment of physiology, and on the east by rooms for 
 recitation, demonstration and examination. On the 
 fourth floor is the main dissecting room, thirty-six 
 feet by one hundred and five, lighted by three sky- 
 lights, of which the central one is thirty feet by forty in 
 size, and the two lateral ones each twenty-five feet by 
 thirty. At each end of this floor are additional rooms, 
 with separate skylights, for the demonstrators of anat- 
 omy, the prosector of surgery, for private dissecting, 
 and for instruction in operative surgery. At the head 
 of the stairway are rooms for the prosector of anatomy. 
 
 The middle building is fifty-five feet in width by 
 ninety-six in length. The first floor contains the main 
 lecture room, forty-eight feet by fifty-five, entered by 
 two doorways from the front hall. It is eighteen feet 
 in height, with a descent of seven feet from the en- 
 trance to the front of the lecturer's platform ; and is 
 lighted by five windows on each side. Its seating 
 capacity is a little over four hundred. The air-supply 
 
174 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET 1 75 
 
 is introduced by narrow horizontal slits, beneath the 
 seats, in the risers of the platforms ; and the escape 
 of air is provided for by eight ventilating registers in 
 the north and south walls, four of them being placed 
 near the floor and four near the ceiling. In the rear 
 of the lecture room is an apparatus room for chemistry 
 and physics. In the front hall, at the foot of the main 
 stairway, on the west side, is the entrance to a covered 
 way leading to the Vanderbilt Clinic. 
 
 The amphitheatre, situated above the lecture room, 
 is of the same length and width, but has a height of 
 twenty-eight feet from floor to ceiling, with a descent 
 of eighteen feet from the uppermost platform to the 
 lecturer's area. It has a seating capacity of four hun- 
 dred and fifty. Above the lecturer's area is a sky- 
 light, sixteen feet by twenty ; and there are six win- 
 dows in the east wall, behind the upper seats. The 
 air-supply, like that of the lecture room, is by slits in 
 the risers of the platforms ; and the air escapes, by 
 openings around the base of the skylight, into the 
 space between the ceiling and the roof, whence it is 
 conducted to the outer ventilating shaft. The pro- 
 fessors' entrance to the amphitheatre is by a corridor 
 on the second floor, leading to the area ; the students' 
 entrance is by two doors leading, from the front and 
 rear stairways, to the upper platform. Behind the 
 amphitheatre, and communicating with the rear stair- 
 way, are two half-story rooms, for the cabinet of mate- 
 ria medica and the private working room of the pro- 
 fessor of that department. 
 
176 
 
 THE COLLEGE IN 
 
 COLLEGE BUILDING 
 
 FOURTH 5T0R.Y 
 
 PLAN 
 
 ROOF QF 
 
 LABORATORY WINE 
 
 ROOF 
 
 MID 
 
 OF 
 
 n LE 
 
 niNB 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. lyj 
 
 The north or Sixtieth street building is ninety-six 
 feet long by forty-three feet deep, and is three stories 
 in height. On its first floor are the apartments of the 
 janitor, the laboratory of the chemical professor, and a 
 laboratory of instruction in practical chemistry for 
 stu'dents. The middle portion of the second floor is 
 occupied by the general pathological laboratory. 
 This is a square room, thirty-six feet by thirty-six, 
 surrounded by shelving for jars of preserved patho- 
 logical specimens, to be used by the teachers of the 
 laboratory and by advanced workers, for examination 
 and demonstration. Adjoining it on the western end 
 are the director's room, a photograph chamber, and a 
 chemical and operating room. On the eastern end is 
 a room, twenty-seven feet by thirty-six, for experi- 
 ments and researches in bacteriology. In the north- 
 west corner of this room is an apartment ten feet 
 square, shut off from the rest by glazed partitions, and 
 serving for the experimental culture of various bac- 
 terial forms under uniform temperatures. The third 
 floor is divided into two rooms, each thirty-six feet by 
 forty-four, for class instruction in histology and pa- 
 thology. All the rooms are provided with appro- 
 priate tables, hoods, sinks, instruments and apparatus. 
 
 Adjacent to the main stairway hall is a hydraulic 
 elevator, running from the cellar to the fourth floor, 
 for the transportation of subjects, specimens, illustra- 
 tions and apparatus. In the rear hall is a dumb waiter 
 of smaller dimensions, for the accommodation of the 
 laboratory wing. 
 
178 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 The warming and ventilation of the building are 
 provided for by five steam boilers, each fifty-four 
 inches in diameter by sixteen feet in length. From 
 these boilers steam is supplied to the heating coils in 
 four air chambers, situated in the basement of the 
 middle building. Four fans and fan-engines drive the 
 air past the heating coils, through as many systems of 
 distributing air ducts, to the rooms above. The first 
 of these systems supplies air to the first, second, and 
 third floors of the front building ; the second, to the 
 dissecting room floor ; the third, to the lecture room 
 and amphitheatre in the middle building ; and the 
 fourth, to the laboratory wing. The air chamber of 
 the third system is provided with valves, by which 
 it may be made to communicate, at will, with either 
 the lecture room or the amphitheatre, or with both. 
 Under a moderate speed of the fan-engine, either of 
 these rooms may be supplied with 750,000 cubic feet 
 of air per hour. 
 
 The ventilating flues for the escape of air from all 
 rooms of the front building terminate in two main 
 ducts, which open in the interior of a brick shaft sur- 
 rounding the iron smoke-pipe of the boiler furnace. 
 One-half the space of this shaft is appropriated to the 
 duct from the dissecting room floor ; the other half, to 
 that from the rest of the front building. The ducts 
 from the lecture room and amphitheatre discharge by 
 a common ventilator above the roof of the middle 
 building ; and those from the the laboratory wing, by 
 brick shafts above the roof of the rear building. 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. IJ^ 
 
 The front and middle buildings are lighted by three 
 hundred and fifty electric lamps, of sixteen candle pow- 
 er each, run by a dynamo-electric machine and machine 
 engine in the basement. The machine also supplies 
 electricity to an automatic arc light in the lecture room, 
 for magic lantern demonstrations. Illuminating gas 
 and gas burners are distributed in all three buildings. 
 
 The cellar excavations for the Sloane Maternity 
 Hospital and the Vanderbilt Clinic were made in the 
 spring and summer of 1886; and the walls of both 
 buildings were well in progress by the early part of 
 December. During the rest of the winter and spring, 
 work was continued at intervals when the weather was 
 sufficiently favorable ; and in the following August the 
 roofs were completed. By the end of the year both 
 buildings were ready for use ; and they were inaugu- 
 rated, with an address by Professor T, Gaillard 
 Thomas, M.D., in the lecture room of the College, 
 December 29th, 1887. 
 
 The Sloane Maternity Hospital is at the cor- 
 ner of Fifty-ninth street and Tenth Avenue, with its 
 entrance on Fifty-ninth street. Its dimensions are 
 sixty-five feet on Fifty-ninth street, by seventy-five 
 feet on Tenth Avenue. It is of three stories and an 
 attic. Its exterior architectural effect resembles that of 
 the college building, its brick surfaces being relieved 
 with facings, lines and mouldings of granite and terra 
 cotta. 
 
i8o 
 
 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 Internally, its construction is fireproof throughout. 
 The floorine of the halls and the wainscoting- of the 
 stairways are of white marble. In the wards the 
 flooring is of vitrified tiles, with a marble base for the 
 side walls. The surfaces of the walls and partitions 
 are in hard finish. 
 
 The Sloane Maternity Hospital. 
 From Tenth Avenue, near Fifty-ninth street. 
 
 The basement contains the laundry, the kitchen, 
 the servants' dining room, the coil chamber and fan 
 for warming and ventilation, and a bath room for 
 newly admitted patients, with lockers for the deposit 
 and safe-keeping of their personal clothing and effects 
 while inmates of the hospital. 
 
 On the first floor are the janitor's room, an exam- 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. l8l 
 
 ination room for patients applying for admission, 
 rooms for the Board of Managers, the House Physi- 
 cian, the Assistant House Physician, and the Matron ; 
 also a dining room and a general reception room. 
 
 The second floor has three wards, one of six beds 
 and two of four beds each ; a delivery room, where 
 the patients are confined and from which they are 
 transferred to the wards after delivery ; sleeping 
 rooms for ward nurses ; and the drug room of the 
 establishment. 
 
 The third floor has three wards, similar to those of 
 the second. It also contains the apartment of the 
 head nurse ; sleeping rooms for ward nurses ; and two 
 isolating wards, of one bed each, for such patients as 
 may need to be separated from the rest. The attic is 
 occupied by servants' sleeping rooms. 
 
 The Matron of the hospital performs the duties of 
 housekeeper ; providing for the supplies and other 
 daily requirements of the institution, the hiring and 
 management of servants, and the care and preserva- 
 tion of the furniture. The ward nurses, four in num- 
 ber, are supplied from the training school of the New 
 York Hospital, being selected from those who have 
 already received general instruction for one year or 
 more. Each nurse remains in the Maternity Hospital 
 for three months, learning the duties and performing 
 the service of obstetrical nursing under the instruction 
 of the head nurse, who is permanently attached to the 
 institution and is known as the Principal of the Train- 
 ing School. The House Physician and Assistant 
 
152 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 House Physician reside in the hospital, serving for six 
 months in each capacity. 
 
 As one of the main objects of the institution is to 
 afford instruction in the practice of obstetrics, a cer- 
 tain number of students belonging to the graduating 
 class of the College are designated each week, to 
 attend the daily visits of the House Physician in the 
 wards, to observe the appearance and treatment of the 
 patients, the dressing and management of the infants, 
 and all matters relating to the puerperal condition. 
 Each of these students in turn also holds himself in 
 readiness to attend, under the direction of the House 
 Physician, the next case of delivery which may occur 
 in the hospital. While engaged in this service they 
 are forbidden to visit any dissecting room or patholog- 
 ical laboratory, or any other hospital or dispensary, or 
 to be present at any kind of anatomical examination 
 elsewhere. The same restrictions apply to the House 
 Physician and the Assistant House Physician during 
 their term of service. 
 
 Staff of the Sloane Maternity Hospital 
 
 IN \\ 
 
 n. 
 
 T. Gaillard Thomas, M.D., Consulting Physician. 
 James W. McLane, M.D., Visiting Physician. 
 Edward L. Partridge, M.D., Asst. Visiting Physicia 
 James W. Markoe, M.D., House Physician. 
 Harry McM. Painter, M.D., Asst. House Physician 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. 
 
 183 
 
 The Vanderbilt Clinic, at Tenth Avenue and 
 Sixtieth street, is similar in general appearance to the 
 two other buildings on the college grounds. Its front 
 on Tenth Avenue has a width of sixty feet, and its 
 depth is one hundred feet. It is three stories in 
 height, with windows in front and on both sides. 
 
 The Vanderbilt Clinic. 
 From Tenth Avenue and Sixtieth street. 
 
 In the basement are the janitor's kitchen and laun- 
 dry, a number of store rooms, and the steam appara- 
 tus of the building. On the first floor the main hall, 
 paved with white tiles, is used for the accommodation of 
 patients awaiting their distribution to the various clini- 
 cal departments. On one side of this hall is the drug 
 room, from which prescriptions are dispensed by the 
 
184 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 apothecary ; on the other are clinical rooms for male 
 and female surgical patients, for children, for diseases 
 of the nervous system, and for orthopaedics. 
 
 The second floor is occupied by clinical rooms for 
 diseases of the eye, the ear, the throat, and for dis- 
 eases of women. There is also a room with twelve 
 stalls, for instruction in ophthalmoscopy, otoscopy and 
 laryngoscopy ; and waiting rooms for patients to be 
 taken into the amphitheatre, the lecturer's entrance to 
 which is on this floor. 
 
 In the third story are clinical rooms for practical 
 medicine, for affections of the genito-urinary system, 
 and for diseases of the skin ; and a separate stairway 
 for the students' entrance to the amphitheatre. The 
 amphitheatre, situated at the eastern or rear end of 
 the building, is forty-one feet by fifty- seven, horizontal 
 measurement, and thirty feet high from floor to ceil- 
 ing, with a descent of twenty feet from the uppermost 
 platform to the area floor. Its seating capacity is 
 three hundred and ninety. The air is supplied 
 through slits in the risers of the platforms, and es- 
 capes by a large opening in the framework beneath 
 the skylight. The entire building is warmed by 
 steam coil-chambers in the basement ; and the ventila- 
 tion is effected by two fans, one of which serves for 
 the air boxes of the amphitheatre, the other for those 
 supplying the rest of the building. 
 
 Both the Clinic and the Maternity Hospital are 
 supplied with steam from the boiler house of the col- 
 lege, through pipes beneath the covered way. 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET 185 
 
 Staff of the Vanderbilt Clinic 
 
 IN \\ 
 
 MEDICINE. 
 
 Francis Delafield, M.D., Professor. 
 Frank W. Jackson, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 Charles D. Scudder, M.D., Clinical A ssistaitt. 
 George R. Lockwood, M.D., " " 
 
 Walter B. James, M.D., 
 
 SURGERY, 
 
 William T. Bull, M.D., Professor Adj'tmcL 
 Richard J. Hall, M.D., 
 Robert F. Weir, M.D., Clinical Professor. 
 George S. Huntington, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 
 A. J. Magnin, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 
 B. B. Gallaudet, M.D., " 
 James R. Hayden, M.D., " 
 
 diseases of women. 
 
 T. Gaillard Thomas, M.D., Professor of Clinical 
 
 Gynecology. 
 George M. Tuttle, M. D., Professor of Gynecology. 
 Charles Ware, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 James B. Hunter, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 
i86 
 
 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Abraham Jacobi, M.D., Clinical Professor. 
 Francis Huber, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 Abram Brothers, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 Albert F. Brugman, M.D. 
 Alexander B. Pope, M.D., 
 Willis W. French, M.D., 
 D. Brown, M.D., 
 
 H. N. ViNEBERG, M.D., 
 
 GENITO-URINARY DISEASES. 
 
 Fessenden N. Otis, M.D., Clinical Professor 
 L. Bolton Bangs, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 William K. Otis, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 George E. Brewer, M.D., " " 
 
 diseases of the eye. 
 
 Herman Knapp, M.D., Professor. 
 David Webster, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 Frank W. Ring, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 Walter B. Johnson, M.D., 
 William O. Moore, M.D., 
 John H. Claiborne, M.D., 
 N. J. Hepburn, M.D., 
 Thomas T. Janeway, M.D., 
 Charles H. May, M.D., 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET, 
 
 187 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EAR. 
 
 Albert H. Buck, M.D., Clinical Professor. 
 Huntington Richards, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 GoRHAM Bacon, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 
 diseases of THE THROAT. 
 
 George M. Lefferts, M.D., Clinical Professor. 
 D. Bryson Delay an, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 Urban G. Hitchcock, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 Charles H. Knight, M.D., 
 S. O. Vander Poel, M.D., 
 William J. Swift, M.D., 
 William K. Simpson, M.D., 
 Francis J. Quinlan, M.D., 
 Frank E. Miller, M.D. 
 
 diseases of the skin. 
 
 George H. Fox, M.D., Clinical Professor. 
 George T. Jackson, M.D., Chief of Clinic. 
 Charles A. Kinch, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 Frank B. Carpenter, M.D., " " 
 
 diseases of the neryous system. 
 
 M. Allen Starr, M.D., Clinical Profesor. 
 Henry W. Berg, M.D., Clinical Assistant. 
 Barney Sachs, M.D., " " 
 
 James A. Booth, M.D., 
 G. A. Dixon, M.D., 
 
1 88 '■ THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 The Roosevelt Hospital is on the south side of 
 Fifty-ninth street, nearly opposite the college build- 
 ing ; and its grounds comprise the entire block from 
 Ninth to Tenth , Avenue, and from Fifty-eighth to 
 Fifty-ninth street. 
 
 The fund for this hospital was established in 1863 
 by a bequest in the will of James H. Roosevelt, Esq., 
 of property amounting in value to nearly one million 
 dollars. The property was bequeathed to nine trus- 
 tees, namely ; the Hon. James I. Roosevelt, Edwin 
 Clark, Esq., John M. Knox, Esq., and Adrian H. 
 Muller, Esq., individually, and the following five ex 
 officio ; the president of the New York Hospital ; the 
 president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons ; 
 the president of the New York Eye Infirmary ; the 
 president of the Demilt Dispensary ; and the presi- 
 dent of the New York Institution for the Blind. It 
 was to be used, under the direction of this Board, 
 *' for the establishment, in the city of New York, of 
 a hospital for the reception and relief of sick and dis- 
 eased persons, and for its permanent endowment." 
 In 1864 the institution was incorporated under the 
 name of the Roosevelt Hospital. The corner stone 
 was laid in October, 1869; and the building was 
 opened for the reception of patients November 2d, 
 1871. 
 
 The hospital consists of a central administrative 
 building fronting on Fifty-ninth street, with an ex- 
 tension in the rear, flanked by three parallel pavil- 
 ions, two on the eastern and one on the western side. 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. 
 
 189 
 
 The central building, four stories in height, contains 
 offices, reception and examination rooms, the apothe- 
 cary's laboratory and dispensing room, the superin- 
 tendent's apartments, rooms for the meetings of the 
 Trustees and the Medical Board, an operating theatre, 
 and two surgical wards for women and children. The 
 rear building is occupied by steam boilers and the 
 
 Roosevelt Hospital. 
 From the northeast. 
 
 warming and ventilating machinery, the laundry, bak- 
 ery, kitchen and servants' sleeping rooms. 
 
 The pavilion next the administration building on 
 the east is of four stories, containing medical wards 
 for male and female patients, nurses' rooms, and 
 apartments for the house staff; that still farther to the 
 east, near Ninth Avenue, is a one-story building for 
 
I90 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 surgical patients ; and that on the west, also of one 
 story, is for the treatment of out-door cases. 
 
 The hospital contains altogether nearly one hun- 
 dred and seventy beds ; and for the year 1887 there 
 were admitted and discharged over two thousand five 
 hundred patients. 
 
 Staff of the Roosevelt Hospital 
 
 IN \\ 
 
 John T. Metcalfe, M.D., Consiilting Physician. 
 Thomas Addis Emmet, M.D., " " 
 
 Thomas M. Markoe, M.D., Consulting Surgeon. 
 Robert F. Weir, M.D., 
 
 William H. Draper, M.D., Attending Physician. 
 Francis Delafield, M.D., " " 
 
 William H. Thomson, M.D., 
 J. West Roosevelt, M.D,, " " 
 
 Charles McBurney, M.D., Attending Surgeon. 
 Frank Hartley, M.D., Assistant Surgeon 
 Richard J. Hall, M.D., 
 George S.Huntington, M.D., " " 
 
 George M. Tuttle, M.D., Gynecologist. 
 Charles N. Dowd, M.D., Hotise Physician. 
 Alexander H. Travis, M.D., Senior Assistant. 
 Levi O. Wiggins, M.D., junior Assistant. 
 William H. Park, M.D., House Stcrgeon. 
 Frederick J. Brockway, M.D., Senior Assistant. 
 Calvin L. Harrison, M.D., Junior Assistant. 
 Robert A. Sands, M.D., Surgical Dresser. 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. I9I 
 
 When the College, in 1884, came into possession 
 of its grounds at Fifty-ninth street, the neighboring 
 region to the west and north was a nearly uninhab- 
 ited waste. On the opposite side of Tenth Avenue 
 there was but one building, a country house which 
 had been unused for several years ; and the whole of 
 Sixtieth street on the north, from Ninth to Tenth 
 Avenue, was vacant with the exception of a single 
 dwelling house, formerly surrounded by fields and 
 gardens, and still retaining much of its rural aspect. 
 But nearly at the same time with the excavation on 
 the grounds of the College, preparations were com- 
 menced for other buildings near by; and when the 
 college edifice was finished and inaugurated in 1887, 
 it was almost completely surrounded on the adjoining 
 streets by five-story brick and stone structures, leav- 
 ing only the two country houses above mentioned, to 
 represent the former condition of the locality. 
 
 The number of students in attendance at the Col- 
 lege had greatly increased during the middle and 
 latter part of its stay in Twenty-third street. The 
 average size of the class, for the ten years previous 
 to 1886, was within a fraction of five hundred. In the 
 session of 1886-87, ^^ ^^-^t held in Twenty-third 
 street, the class numbered a little over six hundred ; 
 and in that of 1887-88 it was eight hundred and nine. 
 Notwithstanding the large proportion, in this class, 
 of pupils in the first year of their studies the laborato- 
 ries of the College were well attended. In the physio- 
 logical and pathological laboratory there were during 
 
192 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 this session one hundred and sixty-five pupils, taking 
 fifty lessons of two hours each. Of this number, one 
 hundred and eight followed the course in normal his- 
 tology, and fifty-seven that in pathological histology. 
 The laboratory of instruction in practical chemistry, 
 though organized for the first time, was attended by 
 sixty-four students. 
 
 The year 1888 was signalized by a further ad- 
 vance in the methods of the College, including impor- 
 tant changes in the requirements and courses of in- 
 struction. 
 
 The first of these changes consisted in the adoption 
 of a system of entrance examinations. This had long 
 been considered as a desirable measure in the interest 
 of pupils commencing their medical studies. Those 
 who enter upon a course of professional training, with- 
 out preliminary academic or college education, are at a 
 great disadvantage in regard to their future progress. 
 In many such cases, even with pupils of fair intelli- 
 gence and ability, nearly a whole year must be spent in 
 " learning how to study." This is especially true for 
 neophytes in medicine. They have not yet acquired 
 the habits of application and retention necessary for so 
 exacting a study ; and in their capacity for mastering 
 its difficulties they are far behind those who possess 
 beforehand the requisite mental equipment. No doubt 
 such deficiencies may be more or less compensated, in 
 certain instances, by unusual exertion or superior talent. 
 But these cases are wholly exceptional ; and for the 
 great mass of medical students it is beyond question 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. 1 93 
 
 that a due preliminary training is in the long run a 
 permanent advantage, and even essential for complete 
 professional success. 
 
 To secure this advantage the student must be re- 
 quired to show evidence of systematic study before he 
 is allowed to enter the medical school. As he cannot 
 be expected to know for himself the necessity of such 
 a requirement, it would seem to be the duty of his in- 
 structors to impose it upon him for his own benefit. 
 For these reasons the College adopted a schedule of 
 entrance examinations, making it a prerequisite for 
 matriculation that the student should show a fair pro- 
 ficiency in the English and Latin languages, arithmetic, 
 algebra and geometry ; such as is usually demanded 
 for graduation in academies or for entrance in advanced 
 literary colleges. These examinations were required 
 of all intending to graduate, except those who had 
 already gone through with similar or equivalent stud- 
 ies in literary colleges or academies, or schools of sci- 
 ence, or who had already graduated in medicine else- 
 where. This system was promulgated in the college 
 catalogue for 1887, going into operation for the first 
 time in 1888. 
 
 An equally important alteration was the adoption 
 of a three years college course, as the regular method 
 of preparing candidates for graduation. The position 
 of medical colleges in this respect had materially 
 changed since the earlier half of the century, owing to 
 the gradual enlargement of their duties and opportuni- 
 ties. Formerly, the student of medicine was required 
 13 
 
194 THE COLLEGE LN 
 
 to pursue his studies for the legal term of three years 
 under the direction of a duly authorized practitioner, 
 who was responsible for the character of his instruc- 
 tion, and for the time spent in his pupilage. To re- 
 ceive the degree of M.D,, he must also have attended 
 two full courses of lectures in a regularly chartered or 
 incorporated medical college, the last of them in the 
 college which granted him the degree. When the 
 college sessions were only four months long, and con- 
 sisted wholly or mainly of didactic lectures, the inter- 
 val between two courses embraced the greater part of 
 the year ; and these intervals were occupied with per- 
 sonal instruction from the preceptor. Thus the func- 
 tion of the preceptor was a most important one in the 
 preparation of the student, while the two courses of 
 lectures were short but interesting episodes in his 
 term of study. But as the college session was length- 
 ened from time to time, it came at last to occupy the 
 greater instead of the smaller part of the year. What 
 was of still more consequence, it began to embrace 
 systematic courses of clinical and practical teaching, 
 such as the private preceptor could not hope to give. 
 With the establishment of college laboratories for in- 
 struction in histology, pathology and the like, this 
 difference became more marked than ever ; until the 
 former relations between office and college instruc- 
 tion were reversed, the duties of preceptor becom- 
 ing hardly more than an appendage to those of the 
 college. 
 
 As this change was plainly a progressive one, and 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET. 1 95 
 
 likely to be more beneficial if made complete, it was 
 proposed that the College should assume, so far as 
 possible, the entire responsibility of preparing its stu- 
 dents for graduation. But this could only be done by 
 the adoption of a curriculum extending over the whole 
 time of study; and so arranged as to carry the student, 
 in regular order, from one year to another, beginning 
 with the general and elementary branches and ending 
 with the more specific and practical. 
 
 The way had already been prepared, in some 
 measure, for this innovation. For many years past 
 an increasing number of students had actually attended 
 three college sessions ; taking, for the first year only 
 the lectures in the elementary departments, following 
 the whole in the second year, and devoting the third 
 to practical subjects and clinical work. This plan, so 
 obvious in its advantages, was pursued, under the ad- 
 vice of the professors, by most of the students resid- 
 ing in the city, and by those from elsewhere who were 
 willing to attend three college sessions instead of two. 
 It was believed that by making such a course oblig- 
 atory on all, the college would serve, at the same time, 
 its own reputation, the interest of its graduates, and 
 the cause of medical education. 
 
 It was evident, moreover, that such a plan should 
 include, as essential parts of the curriculum, the 
 courses of laboratory, clinical, and practical instruc- 
 tion, which had heretofore been left to the individual 
 option of the student. He would thus be directed as 
 to the time and amount of work which he should give 
 
196 THE COLLEGE LJV 
 
 to the different departments, both in the lecture room 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 Accordingly a schedule for the three years' course 
 was prepared by the Faculty and adopted by the 
 Board of Trustees, to go into effect from the year 
 1888. Under this plan the first year is devoted to 
 didactic lectures on anatomy, physiology, physics and 
 chemistry, with practical laboratory work in dissection, 
 normal histology, and physiological and medical chem- 
 istry. The second year embraces didactic lectures in 
 all the regular courses, with continued practice in 
 dissection, attendance on the general medical and 
 surgical clinics at the Vanderbilt Clinic, and practical 
 chnical instruction in the same departments. For the 
 third year the student follows didactic lectures in 
 materia medica and therapeutics, pathology and prac- 
 tical medicine, the principles and practice of surgery, 
 obstetrics and gynecology ; clinics of the special de- 
 partments at the Vanderbilt Clinic, with practical clini- 
 cal work on the same ; and practical clinical instruc- 
 tion in obstetrics at the Sloane Maternity Hospital. 
 
 To increase the efficiency of this scheme, two ad- 
 ditional changes were introduced, with the double 
 purpose of enlarging the students' means of instruc- 
 tion, and of giving to the graduating examinations a 
 share in the clinical as well as the didactic depart- 
 ments. 
 
 First, the college session was lengthened by an- 
 other month ; the date of Commencement being ex- 
 tended from the middle of May, as heretofore, to the 
 
FIFTY-NINTH STREET 
 
 197 
 
 middle of June. This allowed more time for the many 
 requirements embraced in the studies of each year. 
 
 Secondly, the conditions for graduation were made 
 to include examinations on the various clinical studies 
 for which provision had now been made. At the 
 same time the " graduating thesis " was abolished. 
 This exercise had been formerly useful, as affording 
 the only written evidence of the candidate's ability to 
 express his ideas in correct and intelligible language. 
 But since the form of examination had been changed 
 from oral questions and answers to that of written 
 papers, and especially since the adoption of entrance 
 examinations, also in the written form, the graduating 
 thesis had ceased to be of practical benefit, and was 
 only an unnecessary burden on both candidates and 
 examiners. It was therefore dropped as a requisite 
 for graduation, and its place in the schedule of ex- 
 aminations was taken by the special clinical subjects 
 followed by the student in his third year. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Academy of Medicine, 84. 
 
 Address, Introductory, to the college course, 20, 134; abolished, 
 
 135- 
 Agnew, Cornelius R., M.D., clinical professor, 152. 
 Almshouse, in Chambers street, clinical instruction in, 21. 
 Almshouse, at Bellevue, 79 ; converted into a hospital, 80. 
 Alumni Association, establishment of, 108 ; prize of, no, in ; 
 
 incorporation of, 114 ; laboratory of, 113, 126. 
 Anatomy, lecturers on, 12, 69 ; professors of, 19, 30, 55, Gt,, 72, 
 
 loi, 141, 152. 
 Anatomy and physiology, professors of, 55, 72, 147. 
 Anatomy and surgery, professors of, 19, 147. 
 Anatomy, physiology and surgery, professors of, 30. 
 Anatomy, microscopic, appended to the chair of physiology, 93. 
 Anatomy, practical, legalization of, 81. 
 Anatomy, surgical and pathological, professor of, 62. 
 
 Bangs, L. Bolton, M.D., chief of clinic, 186. 
 
 Bard, Samuel, M.D., president of the College, 29, 39. 
 
 Bartlett, Elisha, M.D., professor of materia medica and med- 
 ical jurisprudence, 88 ; his works, 89 ; his illness and resig- 
 nation, 90. 
 
 Beck, John B., M.D., professor of botany and materia medica, 
 55 ; of materia medica and medical jurisprudence, 62 ; his 
 works, 86, 87 ; his character, 88. 
 
 Bellevue hospital, established, 79 ; opened for clinical teach- 
 ing, 80. 
 
 Bequests, to the College, in, 153. 
 
 Botanic garden, Elgin, 36, 37, 38. 
 
 Bruce, Archibald, M.D., registrar, and professor of mineral- 
 ogy, 12 ; of mineralogy and materia medica, 19 ; his bio- 
 graphy, 25. 
 
 Buck, Albert H., M.D., clinical professor, 187. 
 
 Bull, William T., M.D., professor adjunct of the practice of 
 surgery, 144, 145, 185. 
 
INDEX. 199 
 
 Cabinet of materia medica, presented to the college by Pro- 
 fessor Beck, 76. 
 
 Cabinet, the Swift physiological, provision for, 156 ; established 
 in the college, 173. 
 
 Cartvvright, Benjamin, his bequest to the college, iii. 
 
 Cartwright lectures, 112. 
 
 Cartvvright prize, in. 
 
 Chandler, Charles F., M.D., professor of chemistry, 145, 152. 
 
 Charter, of the college, granted, 9 ; amended, 11 ; supple- 
 mented, 29 ; consolidated, 29 ; amended, 104, 161. 
 
 Chemistry, practical instruction in, 192. 
 
 Chemistry, professors of, 12, 19, 22, 30, 55, 61, 93, loi, 145, 152. 
 
 Clark, Alonzo, M.D., lecturer in the Spring course, 74; physi- 
 cian to Bellevue hospital, 81 ; advocates the anatomical 
 bill, 82 ; professor of physiology and pathology, 91, 92 ; 
 of pathology and practical medicine, 93 ; elected president 
 of the college, 150; his resignation, 151. 
 
 Clinic, the Vanderbilt, establishment of, 163 ; location and 
 construction of, 165, 183 ; staff of, 185 ; instruction in, 196. 
 
 Clinics, in the college, establishment of, 77 ; growth of, 78, 125, 
 162, 163. 
 
 Clinical gynecology, professor of, 139. 
 
 Clinical instruction, at the New York Hospital, 20, 62, 120, 123 ; 
 at the almshouse, 21 ; at Bellevue Hospital, 80 ; in the 
 College, 77, 78, 125 ; in the Sloane Maternity Hospital, 
 182 ; in the Vanderbilt clinic, 196. 
 
 Clinical medicine, professors of, 30, 147, 152. 
 
 Clinical surgery, professors of, 144, 152. 
 
 Cock, Thomas, M.D., president of the college, 97. 
 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, its origin, 8 ; its title, 10 ; 
 its charter, 9, 11, 29, 104, 161 ; first course of lectures in, 
 14, 15 ; removal to Magazine street, 21 ; to Barclay street, 
 32 ; to Crosby street, 62, ; to Twenty-third street, 98 ; to Fifty- 
 ninth street, 165 ; union of, with Columbia College, 102, 106. 
 
 College building, in Robinson street, 15 ; in Magazine street, 
 21 ; in Barclay street, 32, 2)Z^ 35 ! i"^ Crosby street, 65, 66 ; 
 in Twenty-third street, 99, 100 ; in Fifty-ninth street, 168. 
 
 College, Columbia, formerly near Park Place, 15 ; medical 
 lectures in, 29 ; professors of, join the College of Physi- 
 cians and Surgeons, 29, 30 ; College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons becomes the medical department of, 102, 106. 
 
200 - INDEX. 
 
 College, Rutgers Medical, 53, 58, 59. 
 
 Conkling, Frederick A., advocates the anatomical bill, 82. 
 Curriculum, of the college, extended over three years, 193. 
 Curtis, Edward, M.D., professor of materia medica, 140 ; his 
 
 resignation, 141. 
 Curtis, John G., M.D., professor of physiology, 146. 
 
 Dana, James F., M.D., professor of chemistry, 55, 56, 61. 
 
 Dalton, John C, M.D., professor of physiology, 93, 146 ; presi- 
 dent of the college, 151. 
 
 Delafield, Edward, M.D., professor of obstetrics, 55 ; surgeon 
 to the New York Eye Infirmary, 57 ; lectures on diseases 
 of the eye, 59 ; resigns his professorship, 69 ; president of 
 the college, 97; establishes the Delafield prize, no; his 
 administration as president, 149, 150. 
 
 Delafield, Francis, M.D., originator and director of the labora- 
 tory of the Alumni Association, 113, 114; professor of pa- 
 tholog}' and practical medicine, 146, 152, 185 ; physician to 
 Roosevelt Hospital, 190. 
 
 Delafield prize, no. 
 
 Delavan, D. Bryson, M.D., chief of clinic, 187. 
 
 Depew, Chauncey M., orator at laying of corner stone of col- 
 lege building, 169. 
 
 Dering, Nicoll H., M.D , trustee and registrar, 61. 
 
 Detmold, William, M.D., lecturer in the Spring course, 74 ; es- 
 tablishes a surgical clinic in the college, 125. 
 
 DeWitt, Benjamin, M.D., professor of the institutes of medi- 
 cine, 12 ; of chemistry, 19, 25, 
 
 Draper, William H., M.D., professor of clinical medicine, 147, 
 152 ; physician to Roosevelt Hospital, 190. 
 
 Emmet, Thomas Addis, M.D., consulting physician to Roosevelt 
 Hospital, 190. 
 
 Examination, for the degree of M.D., as first conducted in the 
 college, 27, 127 ; simplified, 128^ 129 ; made more stringent, 
 129, 130 ; required to be in writing, 130, 131 ; deferred till 
 after the close of lectures, 131 ; to include clinical sub- 
 jects, 197. 
 
 Examination, for entrance into the college, 192. 
 
 Examination honors, 122. 
 
 Examination, prizes for general proficiency in, 122, 123. 
 
INDEX. 20 1 
 
 Faculty of the college, in 1807, 12 ; in 1808, 19 ; in 1814, 30 ; in 
 1825, 52; in 1826, 55 ; in 1843, 72 ; in 1858, loi ; in 1887, 
 152. 
 
 Fox, George H., M.D., clinical professor, 152, 187. 
 
 Francis, John W., M.D., registrar and professor of materia med- 
 ica, 31, 41. 
 
 Fund, alumni association prize, no, in ; alumni association 
 laboratory, 112, 113, 114; Cartwright prize and lecture, 
 III ; Foster Swift memorial, 156 ; Harsen prize, 116, 123 ; 
 Joseph M. Smith prize, 120 ; Stevens triennial prize, 116. 
 
 Gifts and bequests to the college, 76, no, in, 116, 120, 153, 
 
 155, 156. 
 
 Gilman, Chandler R., M.D,, professor of obstetrics, 69, 72 ; lec- 
 tures in the Spring and Fall courses, 74, 75 ; establishes 
 clinic for diseases of women and children, 78 ; his exertions 
 for improvement of the college, 79 ; physician to Bellevue 
 Hospital, 81 ; his character and appearance, 136, 137 ; his 
 published works, 138. 
 
 Graduation, first ceremonies of, in the college, 27, 28. 
 
 Graduation, examinations for, 27, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 197. 
 
 Gynecology, separated from the chair of obstetrics, 139. 
 
 Gynecology, professors of, 139, 185. 
 
 Hall, Richard J., M.D., professor adjunct of the principles of 
 surgery, 144, 145, 152, 185 ; assistant surgeon to Roosevelt 
 Hospital, 190. 
 
 Hamersley, William, M.D., professor of clinical medicine, 30 ; 
 trustee, 61. 
 
 Harsen, Jacob, M.D., establishes the Harsen prize, 116; his 
 biography, 117. 
 
 Harsen prizes, for clinical reports, 116, 119, 123 ; for proficiency 
 in examination, 124. 
 
 Hosack, David, M.D., professor of materia medica and botany, 
 12 ; of the theory and practice of physic, 30 ; establishes 
 the Elgin botanic garden, 36, 37 ; his traits and peculiari- 
 ties, 39, 40. 
 
 Hospital, the New York, in 1807, 16 ; in i860, 119 ; removed to 
 Fifteenth street, 123 ; clinical instruction in, 20, 62, 116, 
 123. 
 
 Hospital, Bellevue, established, 79 ; opened for clinical instruc- 
 tion, 80. 
 
202 INDEX. 
 
 Hospital, "Roosevelt, foundation of, i88 ; trustees of, i88 ; in- 
 auguration of, i88 ; construction of, 189 ; staff of, 190. 
 
 Hospital, the Sloane Maternity, foundation of, 162 ; location and 
 construction of, 165, 179 ; inauguration of, 179 ; organiza- 
 tion of, 162, 181 ; practical instruction in, 182 ; staff of, 182, 
 
 Huber, Francis, M.D., chief of clinic, 186. 
 
 Huntington, George S., M.D., chief of clinic, 185. 
 
 Inauguration, of the college, in Robinson street, 14 ; in Maga- 
 zine street, 21 ; in Barclay street, 34 ; in Crosby street, 64 ; 
 in Twenty-third street, 99 ; in Fifty-ninth street, 169. 
 
 Inauguration, of the Roosevelt hospital, 188 ; of the Sloane 
 maternity hospital and the Vanderbilt clinic, 179. 
 
 Institutes of Medicine, chair of, in the college, 19 ; professors 
 of, 12, 19. 
 
 Instruction, in the college, changes in methods of, 127, 133, 193. 
 
 Instruction, clinical, at the New York Hospital, 20, 62, 120, 123 ; 
 at the almshouse, 21 ; at Bellevue Hospital, 80 ; in the Col- 
 lege, 77, 125 ; at the Vanderbilt clinic, 196. 
 
 Instruction, demonstrative, 76, 126. 
 
 Instruction, experimental, in chemistry, physiology, and path- 
 ology, 112, 192, 196. 
 
 Instruction, practical, at the Sloane maternity hospital, 182. 
 
 Introductory address, at opening of the college session, 20, 
 134 ; abolished, 135. 
 
 Introductor}' lectures, 20 ; discontinued, 134. 
 
 Jackson, Frank W., M.D., chief of clinic, 185. 
 Jackson, George T., M.D., chief of clinic, 187. 
 Jacobi, Abraham, M.D., clinical professor, 152, 186. 
 Jaques, John D., M.D., trustee and treasurer, 61. 
 
 Knapp, Herman, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, 186. 
 
 Laboratory, physiological and pathological, of the alumni asso- 
 ciation, 113, 126, 171, 177. 
 
 Lecturers, to serve before becoming professors, 73. 
 
 Lecturers, on anatomy, 12, 69 ; on chemistry, 12, 25, 93 ; on ob- 
 stetrics, 69 ; on pathology, 91 ; on physiology, 91 ; on sur- 
 gery and midwifery, 12 ; on materia medica, 140, 141. 
 
 Lecturers adjunct, how appointed, 148. 
 
 Lectures, Cartwright, 112. 
 
INDEX. 203 
 
 Lectures, clinical, at the New York Hospital, 20. 
 
 Lectures, in the college, first course of, 14 ; second course of, 20, 
 
 Lectures, introductory, 20 ; discontinued, 134. 
 
 Lectures, Spring and Fall courses of, 73, 74, 75. 
 
 Lefferts, George M., M.D., clinical professor, 152, 187. 
 
 Legalization, of practical anatomy, 81. 
 
 McBurney, Charles, M.D., surgeon to Roosevelt Hospital, 190. 
 McClelland, John, M.D., a benefactor of the college, 153. 
 McLane, James W., M.D., professor of materia medica, 140 ; of 
 
 obstetrics, 139 ; advises location of college grounds, 157 ; 
 
 conducts negotiations for purchase, 160; visiting physician, 
 
 Sloane Maternity hospital, 182. 
 Magazine street, second location of the college, 21 ; becomes a 
 
 part of Pearl street, 21. 
 Markoe, Thomas M., M.D., professor of surgery, 144 ; of the 
 
 principles of surgery, 144, 152 ; consulting surgeon to 
 
 Roosevelt Hospital, 190. 
 Materia medica, professors of, 12, 19, 24, 31, 41, 55, 72, 86, 88, 
 
 9?>, 101, 139. 140, 141- 
 Maternity hospital, the Sloane, 162, 165 ; construction of, 179 ; 
 
 inauguration of, 179 ; organization of, 162, 181; practical 
 
 instruction in, 182, 196 ; staff of, 182. 
 Metcalfe, John T., M.D., consulting physician to Roosevelt 
 
 Hospital, 190. 
 Miller, Edward, M.D., professor of the practice of physic and 
 
 clinical medicine, 12, 19 ; joins in guaranty of funds to the 
 
 college, 15; his professional eminence and character, 24. 
 Mitchill, Samuel L., M.D., vice president, 12, 19 ; professor of 
 
 chemistry, 12; of natural history and botany, 19, 26; his 
 
 accomplishments and reputation, 24. 
 Mott, Valentine, M.D., professor of surgery, 31, 40 ; of operative 
 
 surgery, and surgical and pathological anatomy, 62 ; pro- 
 fessor emeritus, ()2,. 
 
 New York, in 1807, description of, 16. 
 
 New York Hospital, in 1807, 16 ; in i860, 119 ; clinical instruc- 
 tion in, 20, 62, 120, 123; removed to Fifteenth street, 123. 
 
 Obstetrics, practical instruction in, 181, 182, 196 ; professors of, 
 
 19, 31, 55> 72, loi, 136, 138, 139. 
 Ophthalmology, professor of, 186. 
 Otis, Fessenden N,, M.D., clinical professor, 152, 186. 
 
204 INDEX. 
 
 Park Place, formerly Robinson street, 15. 
 
 Parker, Willard, M.D., professor of surgery, 68, 72 ; lectures 
 in Spring and Fall courses, 74, 75 ; establishes the college 
 clinic, 77 ; his exertions for improvement of the college, 
 79 ; surgeon to Bellevue hospital, 81 ; advocates the ana- 
 tomical bill, 83 ; his resignation as professor, 141, 142 ; his 
 character and influence, 142, 143. 
 
 Pathology, importance of, first recognized, 90, 91. 
 
 Pathology and practical medicine, chair of, 93 ; professors of, 
 93, loi, 146, 152. 
 
 Peabody, George L., M.D., professor of materia medica and 
 therapeutics, 141, 152. 
 
 Pearl, formerly Magazine street, 21. 
 
 Physiology, embraced in the Institutes of Medicine, 19 ; joined 
 with anatomy and surgery, 30 ; with anatomy, 55 ; with 
 pathology, 90, 91 ; with microscopic anatomy, 93. 
 
 Physiology, professors of, 30, 55, 63, 72, 91, 92, 93, loi, 146, 
 152. 
 
 Post, Wright, M.D., professor of anatomy, 30, t^S; president of 
 the college, 39 ; his character and reputation, 42, 43. 
 
 Presidents, of the college, 12, 21, 29, 39, 42, 55, b^, 69, 71, 93, 
 97, 149, 150, 151. 
 
 Prize, alumni association, iii ; 
 Cartwright, iii ; 
 Delafield, no ; 
 Harsen, 116 ; 
 
 Joseph Mather Smith, 120 ; 
 Stevens triennial, 116. 
 
 Prizes, Harsen, for clinical reports, 116, 119, 123, 124; for pro- 
 ficiency in examination, 124. 
 
 Prizes, special, for undergraduates, 115 ; their ill effects, 120, 
 121 ; abolished, 122. 
 
 Professors, in 1807, 12 ; in 1808, 19 ; in 1814, 30 ; complaints 
 against, 43, 44, 45 ; their replies, 46 ; ineligible as trustees, 
 48 ; disputes of, with the trustees, 49 ; resignation of, 53 ; 
 n"ew appointment of, 55 ; mode of selecting and appoint- 
 ing, 73, 148, 149- 
 
 Professors, of anatomy, d-X)^ loi, 141, 152 ; 
 
 of anatomy and physiology, 55, 72, 147 ; 
 
 of anatomy and surgery, 19, 147 ; 
 
 of anatomy, physiology and surgery, 30 ; 
 
INDEX. 205 
 
 Professors, of chemistry, 12, 19, 22, 30, 55, 61, 93, loi, 145, 152 ; 
 of chemistry and botany, 62, 72 ; 
 of clinical gynecology, 139 ; 
 of clinical medicine, 30, 147, 152 ; 
 of clinical surgery, 144, 152 ; 
 of gynecology, 139, 152 ; 
 of institutes of medicine, 12, 19, 21, 25 ; 
 of legal medicine, 31 ; 
 of materia medica, 31, 139, 140, 141 ; 
 of materia medica and botany, 12, 55 ; 
 of materia medica and clinical medicine, 93, loi ; 
 of materia medica and medical jurisprudence, 62, 
 72 ; 
 
 of materia medica and therapeutics, 152 ; 
 
 of mineralogy, 12 ; of mineralogy and materia med- 
 ica, 19, 24 ; 
 
 of natural philosophy, 30 ; of natural history and 
 botany, 19, 22, 30 ; 
 
 of obstetrics, 139 ; of obstetrics and the diseases of 
 children, 152 ; 
 
 of obstetrics and the diseases of women and chil- 
 dren, 19, 26, 31, 55, 72, loi ; 
 
 of operative surgery and surgical and pathological 
 anatomy, 62 ; 
 
 of ophthalmology, 186 ; 
 
 of pathology and practical medicine, ()2)i ^°^> i4^> 
 152; 
 
 of physiology, 63, 146, 152 ; 
 
 of physiology and pathology, 91, 92 ; 
 
 of physiology and microscopic anatomy, 93, loi, 
 
 147 ; 
 
 of practice of physic and clinical medicine, 12, 19, 
 
 24 ; 
 of practice of surgery, 144, 152 ; 
 of principles of surgery, 144, 152 ; 
 of principles and practice of surgery, 31, 55, 72, 
 
 loi, 141, 144 ; 
 of surgery, 19, 30 ; . - 
 
 of theory and practice of medicine and clinical 
 
 medicine, 72, 147. 
 Professors, clinical, 146, 152. 
 
2o6 INDEX. 
 
 Professors adjunct, 148 ; 
 
 of anatomy, 141 ; of chemistr}^, 145 ; 
 
 of obstetrics, 138, 139 ; of pathology and practical 
 
 medicine, 146 ; 
 of physiology, 146 ; of principles and practice of 
 surgery, 144, 145. 
 Removal of the college, to Magazine street, 21 ; to Barclay street, 
 32, 2,2y^ 34 ; to Crosby street, 6-^ ; to Twenty-third street, 98 ; 
 to Fifty-ninth street, 165. 
 Repository, the New York Medical, earliest medical periodical 
 in the United States, 23 ; succeeded by the New York Med- 
 ical and Physical Journal, 87. 
 Rhinelander, John R., M.D., professor of anatomy, (iTy ; his re- 
 signation, 68. 
 Richards, Huntington, M.D., chief of clinic, 187. 
 Robinson street, first location of the college, 15 ; afterward Park 
 
 Place, 15. 
 Romayne, Nicholas, M.D., first president of the college, and 
 lecturer on anatomy, 12 ; guarantees funds for the college, 
 15 ; professor of the institutes of medicine, 19; his services 
 and characteristics, 21, 22. 
 Roosevelt hospital, establishment of, 188 ; inauguration of, 188 ; 
 construction of, 189 ; staff of, 190. 
 
 Sabine, Thomas T., M.D., professor of anatomy, 141, 152. 
 
 Sands, Henry B., M.D., professor of anatomy, 141 ; of the prac- 
 tice of surgery, 144, 152. 
 
 Senatus academicus, of the college, 13, 20. 
 
 Session, the college, length of, in 1808, 19 ; in 1847, 75, 133 ; in 
 1868, 133 ; in 1880, 133, 134 ; in 1888, 196. 
 
 Sloane, William D., Mr. and Mrs., establish the Sloane mater- 
 nity hospital, 162. 
 
 Sloane maternity hospital, establishment of, 162 ; location of, 
 165 ; construction of, 179 ; inauguration of, 179 ; organiza- 
 tion of, 162, 181 ; practical instruction in, 182, 196 ; staff 
 of, 182. 
 
 Smith, Alban G., M.D., professor of surgery, 68. 
 
 Smith, John Augustine, M.D., lecturer adjunct on anatomy, 
 12, 13 ; professor of anatomy and surgery, 19 ; joint pro- 
 fessor of anatomy, physiology and surgery, 30 ; his resigna- 
 tion and removal to Virginia, 56 ; his reappointment as 
 
INDEX. 207 
 
 professor of anatomy and physiology, 55, 56 ; president of 
 the college, 63 ; his character and attainments, 69, 70. 
 
 Smith, Joseph M., M.D., professor of theory and practice of 
 physic, 55, 57 ; of materia medica and clinical medicine, 
 93 ; his long service in the college, 139, 140. 
 
 St. John, Samuel, M.D., professor of chemistry, 93, loi ; his 
 character, 145. 
 
 Starr, M. Allen, M.D., clinical professor, 187. 
 
 Stevens, Alexander H., M.D., professor of surgery, 55 ; sur- 
 geon to the New York Hospital, 56 ; his resignation as 
 professor, 68 ; president of the college, 71, 72 ; his resigna- 
 tion, 93 ; his published works, 95 ; his personal and pro- 
 fessional qualities, 94, 96, 97. 
 
 Students, in the college, number of, first, second and third ses- 
 sions, 18; eighth, ninth and tenth sessions, 34; in 1820 
 and 1822, 43 ; after 1826, 59 ; from 1876 to 1886, 191 ; in 
 1886-87 find 1887-88, 191. 
 
 Surgery, professors of, 19, 30, 31, 55, 62, 72, loi, 141, 144, 152. 
 
 Swift, James T., establishes the Swift Physiological Cabinet, 
 155, 156.- 
 
 Thesis, graduating, 27 ; examination on, 27, 128, 129 ; prizes 
 for, 115, 121, 122 ; abolished, 197, 
 
 Thomas, T. Gaillard, M.D., professor of obstetrics, 138 ; of 
 gynecology, 139 ; of clinical gynecology, 139, 147, 152, 
 185 ; orator at inauguration of the Sloane Maternity hos- 
 pital and the Vanderbilt Clinic, 179 ; consulting physician, 
 Sloane Maternity hospital, 182. 
 
 Torrey, John, M.D., professor of chemistry and botany, 6t, 62, 
 72 ; lectures in the Fall course, 75 ; his resignation, 93. 
 
 Trustees, of the college, under its first charter, 10, 11 ; under 
 charter of 1812, 29, 31 ; professors ineligible as, 48 ; dis- 
 agreements of, with the professors, 49 ; majority of, to be 
 non-medical, 51 ; members of the board of, after 1826, 61. 
 
 Trustee examination, 127, 128 ; abolished, 128. 
 
 Tuttle, George M., M.D., professor of gynecology, 139, 152, 185 ; 
 gynecologist to Roosevelt hospital, 190. 
 
 University, of the State of New York, grants the college char- 
 ters, 9, 29 ; authority of, over the college, 10, 27, 45, 46, 102, 
 103 ; transferred to the Board of Trustees, 104. 
 
208 INDEX. 
 
 Vanderbilt, William H., gives land and building fund, to the 
 
 college, 156 ; his lettei* of announcement, 157 ; his personal 
 
 history and qualities, 158, 159, 161. 
 Vanderbilt, George W., lays the corner-stone of the college 
 
 building, 169, 
 Vanderbilt, Cornelius, William K., Frederick W., and Geo. W,, 
 
 establish the Vanderbilt clinic, 163. 
 Vanderbilt clinic, establishment of, 163 ; inauguration of, 179 ; 
 
 construction of, 183 ; staff of, 185 ; instruction in, 196. 
 Ware, Charles, M.D., chief of clinic, 185. 
 Watts, John, M.D., president of the college, 55, 56, d^)- 
 Watts, Robert, M.D., professor of anatomy, 68, 72, loi, 141 ; 
 
 lectures in the Spring and Fall courses, 74, 75 ; his exertions 
 
 on behalf of the college, 79. 
 Webster, David, M.D., chief of clinic, 186. ' 
 
 Weir, Robert F., M.D., professor of clinical surgery, 152, 185 ; 
 
 consulting surgeon to Koosevelt Hospital, 190.