Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-10
The Medical Society Of the District
Will Be That Old
WHEN IT CELEBRATES NEXT FRIDAY
Brief Sketch of the History of the
Organization.
AN EVENTFUL Rec R

10 Dill incorporating the Medical Society
OF the District Of Columbia. Next Friday the
society will celebrate the seventy-fifth ami
versary of the occasion, with appropriate
ceremonies, which will include a meeting
at National Rifles Hall, followed by a ban
quet at the Arlington. There Is every rea-
son to believe that the celebration will be
portance of the event.
The seventy-five years now SO soon to
draw to close are full of interest for the
society, and no doubt an interesting feature
OF the day will be resume of the history
or the organization. There have been some
setbacks, and the society has had some
rather severe storms to weather. but 1t has
come through them all with credit and in
safety. and is now in a most prosperous
condition. According to its latest publica-
ton the society has at present a member
ship Of PA. the senior member being d..
s. G. Busey, who received his degree in
medicine from the University of Pennsyl-
vania IN 1S4S. DIR. ]. w. Buckley graduated
In medicine at the Berkshire Medical College
some time after d.. Busey. The 214th
member Is DR.. Wade H. Atkins, who grad
uated from Georgetown University in 1889
Officers of the Society.
The officers of the society for the present
year are as follows:
Samuel c. Busey, NJ. D., president; Robert
Reyburn. NJ. D.. Joseph Taber johnson, NJ
D., vice presidents; Thomas C. Smith, NJ
D., corresponding secretary; Samuel s.
Adams NJ. D.. recording secretary; c. w.
Franzonl. NJ. D., treasurer; Edwin L. Mo-
gan, NJ. D.. librarian. Board Of examiners
c. H. A. Kleinschmidt, NJ. D.. G. N. Acker,
NJ. D., Samuel s. Adams. NJ. D., Geo. c.
Ober, NJ. D., W. Sinclair Bowen NJ d.
Board of censors-E. F. King NJ d., John
I. Winter. NJ. D., c. w. Richardson, NJ d.
At meeting of the society held Sept am
per ~ 1866, DIR. j. NJ. Toner delivered the
anniversary Grafton, which was printed in
pamphlet form at the time and contains
much valuable and interesting information
about the practice of medicine in the Dis
trict from the very beginning and the his
tory Of events that led up to the organiza-
ton OF the society three-quarters of CEN
fury ago.
1t is probable that the first physician who
settled In Georgetown was DR.. Walter
Smith, and that DR.. John Weems was sec
ond In 11I6 there were two physicians
practfcing In Alexandria. JAMES Laurie and
William Ramsay. though a man by the lat
ter name was among those mentioned in the
act chartering the town-probably the same
man.
Earliest Physicians In Washington.
The earliest physicians in Washington
proper were Samuel Brown and John Crock
er, the latter having been a surgeon in the
the city. in 1875. from Boston. and Dr. Cor
nelius Cunningham. an Englishman by birth.
Is known to have settled here prior to 1196
He added to the income derived from the
practice Of his profession by running
brewery down in the neighborhood of the
Navy Yard.
The first meeting of physicians In the Dis
trict, OF which there is any record was held
"a ieiS. This was called by public adver-
Isement In the National Intelligencer to
take suitable action upon the death of Dr.
Benjamin Rush. 1t was entitled meet
Ing OF the medical faculty Of the city of
Washington and Georgetown" and was held
April Is
A law passed by the assembly of Mary
land in 1I0S. establishing the medical and
chirurgical faculty and for regulating the
ADMISSION or individuals to practice medi-
cine within that state, was not superseded
by any act Of Congress, and was therefore
presumably applicable to the District of
Columbia prior to the chartering of the So
ciety. This law invested the faculty of the
state of Maryland with authority to elect
a board of twelve examiners, whose duty
1t should be TO determine. by a thorough
examination, the qualifca tons and fitness
of all applicants for license to practice with
in the state. This law, If applicable to the
District of Columbia, was not enforced here
although quite number of the early prac-
titioners of the city, not graduates in med
icine, were lcentiates of that society.
Need of "a Society Felt.
The frequent injury and injustice which
had been perpetrated upon citizens of the
District by charlatans and pretended doc
tors. at length in 1877 induced the rexu-
larly qualified physicians of Washington
and Georgetown to form themselves into a
society for the purpose of informing the
public who were qualified to Npractice the
healing art. and worthy of the confidence
of the public. and, in the language of the
cnarter, 1or the promoting and dissemin-
atlng OF medical and surgical knowledge"
There had been meetings of medical men
prior to 1917. but these had always been on
special calls and for specific purposes, of
which no record was kept. The propriety
Of forming a real medical society had long
been canvassed and the profession was
found to be unanimous in its approval of
the project. The call for the meeting with
this object in view was published in the
National Intelligencer September "a 1917
and reads as follows:
The physicians of Washington and
Georgetown are requested to meet at Ten
nison's Hotel, on Friday, the 18th instant.
at III O'Clock, for the purpose of taking into
consideration the organization of a medical
society,""
The meeting was attended by sixteen
physicians, nearly all that We're engaged
In practice here at the time They were
Drs. Charles Worthington James III. Blake
Thomas Sim, Alexander McWilliams, Robert
Il.
son, j. P. c. Mcmahon, Peregrine War
held. Thomas Henderson, George Clark.
Benjamin 9. Bohrer. John Harrison. VIM
Jones, Nicholas w. Worthington and Henry
HUNT. committee of seven was an
pointed to draft constitution and bylaws
for the government of the society. which
received then the name by which 1t is still
known.
Several meetings were held to which the
physicians Of all the District, which then
included Alexandria, were invited and the
first officers were elected January ). ISIS
To better secure to the community the SER
vices of well educated and trained physic-
ians twenty-one members of the society
petitioned Congress in 1918 for a charter
The prayer was granted and the law Great
ing them and their SUCCESSORS a body cor
porate was passed and the Dill received the
signature of the President, just seventy
five years ago next Friday. The society
was charged with the important duty of
licensing to practice within the District
only such as a competent and regularly
elected board of examiners of the society
provided for In the law might upon a full
examination judge qualified or as might
satisfy them of their knowledge of the
science of medicine and surgery by the mo-
duction of a diploma from some Respectable
college
A meeting was held at Strother's Hotel
March IL, for the first election of officers
after the act of Incorporation, and the fol-
lowing were elected for the ensuing year:
Chas. Worthington. president: VIM Arnold
On Iar oh VIC