Page:A cyclopedia of American medical biography vol. 2.djvu/200

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west parisli of Middlotcnvn, Connecticut, on October 15, 1777. His father was the Congregational minister in that town and saw to it that he received a good elemen- tary education. Finally Miner was fitted for college under Dr. Cyprian Strong, of Chatham, and graduated in 1796 from Yale, with the degree of A. B. The next three years were spent in teaching in Goshen, New York, which work, however, was sadly interrupted by two attacks of intermittent fever. Returning to Middle- town in December, 1799, he began the study of law, onh^ to discontinue it during ISIO, on account of a serious attack of rheumatism. In the autumn of 1801, his health permitted him to take charge of an academy at BerHn, where he tauglit for two years, or until ill health again interfered with his plans. He was able, however, when twenty-five years of age, to study medicine under Dr. Osborne, of Middletown, and continue with Dr. Smith-Clark of Haddam. In the spring of 1807 he began to practice at his father's house, but, in the autumn, removed to Middletown, and finally settled at Lynn, only to remove, in two years, back to Middletown, where he practised until an affection of the lungs and heart suddenly ended, for the great part, his professional career, and left him, at the premature age of forty-one, a confirmed valetudinarian.

Subsequently he practised in consulta- tion, and for two or three years did some literary work for the " Medical Recorder of Philadelphia," engaging himself in making .selections, abridgments and translations from the French. In 1823, with Dr. Tully, he published "' Essays on Fevers and other Medical Subjects," which received much criticism on accoiint of the doctrines it advanced. Two years later there appeared his admirable account of an epidemic of " Cerebrosjainal Meningitis in Middletown," 1823. In it he called the affection typhus syncopatis.

He received the honorary degree of M. D. from Y'ale in 1819. He was a member of many important committees in the Connecticut State Medical Society,


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and in 1832 was made its vice-president. Two years later he was promoted to the presidency, an office which he held for three years. He married Pliebe, daugli- ter of Samuel Mather. She died Febru- ary 5, 1811.

His death at the liome of liis friend, Dr. S. B. Woodward, in Worcester, on April 23, 1841, was due to complications result- ing from an affection of the valves of the heart.

Woodward describes him as one of the

most learned physicians in X'ew England

— not only in professional attainments,

but in foreign languages and theology.

He was acquainted with the French,

Italian, Spanish and German languages

and was often employed by publishers in

the country as translator. W. R. S.

Williams, S. W., American Medical Biogra- phy, 1845.

Hazeii, Miner C, Centennial Histor>- of the Middlesex County Medical Association, in Trans. Conn. Med. Soc, 1892.

Minot, Francis (1821-1899).

Francis Minot, Hersey professor of the theory and practice of physic in the Harvard Medical School, was born in Boston, April 12, 1821, and died in Read- ville, Massachusetts, May 11, 1899.

He graduated from Harvard College in 1841; from the Harvard Medical School in 1844, and after graduation studied medicine abroad. In 1860 Trinity Col- lege, Hartford, gave him her A. M. From 1859 to 1886 he was physician to the Massachusetts General Hospital and from 1886 to the time of his death one of the consulting physicians there. He was instructor in the theory and practice of medicine in the Harvard Medical School from 1869 to 1871 and assistant professor from 1871 to 1874. He was the first clini- cal lecturer on the diseases of women and children to be mentioned in the announce- ments of the Harvard Medical School: this was in 1871.

In 187S he gave the annual discourse before the Massachusetts Medical Society, choosing for his subject " Hints on Ethics and Hygiene." In 1889 he was president of the Association of American Physicians.