Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Revolutionary War

  • Physicians of the American Revolution

    Kevin LoughlinBoston, Massachusetts, United States As the American Revolution began in 1775, the practice of medicine in the colonies was still in its nascent stages. There were only two medical schools in North America: the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1765 by John Morgan and William Shippen, Jr., and Columbia, founded in 1767 by Samuel…

  • Joseph Warren: The forgotten founder

    Kevin R. LoughlinBoston, Massachusetts, United States “If Warren had lived, Washington would have remained an obscurity.”– Peter Oliver, former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court On June 17, a late spring New England morning, thousands of Bostonians will begin their day by traveling over the Zakim Bridge. Few will be aware of the significance…

  • Doctor Riker’s decision

    Julie GianakonPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States On the frigid Christmas night of 1776, Dr. John Riker was alarmed by the baying of dogs outside his New Jersey home. He went out into the darkness and discovered that the cause of the commotion was a regiment of armed men. Assuming they belonged to the British army, he angrily ordered…