First Medical School in the United States
The first medical school in the United States was established at the College of Philadelphia, now known as the University of Pennsylvania, in 1765. This significant development was initiated by John Morgan, who proposed the formation of a professorship in Physick and Surgery, and he was appointed as the first professor of the Theory and Practice of Physick. William Shippen Jr. joined as the professor of anatomy and surgery shortly thereafter. The school began its first classes in November 1765, marking the beginning of formal medical education in the country. Morgan, who had extensive medical training in Europe, envisioned this institution to enhance the practice of medicine in America. Shippen, notable for his contributions to obstetrics, also played a key role in establishing medical education as a recognized field. Together, Morgan and Shippen set the groundwork for what would evolve into one of the premier medical colleges in the nation, highlighting the importance of structured medical training in improving healthcare practices.
First Medical School in the United States
First Medical School in the United States
On May 3, 1765, John Morgan presented, at a special meeting of the board of trustees of the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania), a proposal for the establishment of a “professorship…of Physick and Surgery, as well as the several occupations attending upon these necessary and useful arts.” On the same day, he was chosen to be the college's “professor of the Theory and Practice of Physick.” At commencement exercises, on May 30 and 31 of that year, Morgan outlined his philosophy of medical education and the manner in which it would be taught. William Shippen Jr. was appointed professor of anatomy and surgery at a subsequent meeting of the trustees in September 1765. In establishing a medical department with the appointment of Morgan and Shippen, the College of Philadelphia founded the country's first medical school. The first classes began in November of the same year. The University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, into which the new school evolved, observed the bicentennial of medical education in the United States in 1965.
Morgan, a graduate of the College of Philadelphia, had studied medicine with a Philadelphia physician and served for three years as surgeon in the French and Indian War. He then went abroad and continued his studies in Paris, London, and Edinburgh. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a medical degree in 1763. While abroad he conceived the idea of establishing a medical school in the United States. It was on his return that he suggested the plan to the trustees of the College of Philadelphia. Later, from 1775 to 1777, he was director-general of hospitals and physician in chief of the Continental army. He subsequently undertook what became a substantial medical practice, corresponded with learned persons, and was the author of several publications. He died in Philadelphia on October 15, 1789.
Shippen, who had been lecturing on anatomy and operating the nation's first maternity hospital since 1762, was a pioneer in making obstetrics a recognized branch of medicine. From the appointment of Morgan and Shippen as its first professors, the College of Philadelphia developed one of the great medical colleges of the country-the first of the professional schools now maintained by the University of Pennsylvania, and the first school for postgraduate professional training established in the United States. Shippen, who served from 1777 to 1781 as chief of the Continental army's medical department, became a founder and president, from 1805 to 1808, of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He died in 1808.