Nathaniel Chapman 5137980 198107890 2008-03-14T02:24:16Z Delirium 6827 clarify '''Nathaniel Chapman''' ([[28 May]], [[1780]] – [[1 July]], [[1853]]) was a well-known early [[United States|American]] [[physician]]. Chapman was born in [[Summer Hill, Virginia|Summer Hill]], [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]], [[Virginia]]. He received his early education in six years at the classical academy of [[Alexandria, Virginia|Alexandria]]. He later attended two colleges for a short time, before moving to [[Philadelphia]] in 1797, where he began studying under [[Benjamin Rush]] and attending lectures at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. He earned his [[M.D.]] in 1800, with a thesis on [[hydrophobia]]. Upon his graduation, Chapman traveled to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1801, spending a year in [[London]] as a pupil of [[John Abernethy (surgeon)|John Abernethy]], and three in [[Edinburgh]], where he attended lectures at the medical school of the [[University of Edinburgh]]. While in Edinburgh he became acquainted with a number of well-known people, including [[Dugald Stewart]], the [[David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan|Earl of Buchan]], and [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Henry Brougham]]. Chapman returned to the United States in 1804, and established a medical practice in Philadelphia. He gave a private course of lectures on [[obstetrics]] in the same year, which proved so popular that, in 1806 at the age of only 26, he was elected adjunct to the Professor of [[Midwifery]] at the University of Pennsylvania, and soon thereafter was made chair of [[Materia Medica]]. He married Rebecca Biddle (daughter of [[Clement Biddle]]) in 1808. Upon the death of Benjamin Rush in 1812, he was transferred to the chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine, which he would retain for nearly forty years, until his retirement in 1850. In addition to his lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, he also gave annual lectures at the [[Philadelphia Alms House]] and the [[Medical Institute of Philadelphia]]. Among his notable activities in professional service, Chapman founded the ''[[American Journal of the Medical Sciences]]'' in 1820 and served as its editor for some years, and also served as President of both the [[Philadelphia Medical Society]] and the [[American Philosophical Society]]. Of his published works, the most popular were ''Select Speeches, Forensic and Parliamentary'' (1804), touching on both medical and political matters, and ''Therapeutics'' (1817), a work on what was then termed ''[[materia medica]]'' that went through seven editions. ==References== * {{cite journal | title = Death of Nathaniel Chapman, M.D. | journal = [[The Medical Examiner]] | volume = 9 | pages = 532–535 | year = 1853 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=khYCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA532}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Nathaniel}} [[Category:1780 births]] [[Category:1853 deaths]] [[Category:American physicians]] {{US-med-bio-stub}}