William Thompson Lusk William Thompson Lusk ( May 23 , 1838 – June 12 , 1897 ) was an American obstetrician and a soldier who rose to the rank of Assistant Adjutant - General in the United States Volunteers during the first three years of the American Civil War . After he retired from the Union Army , he finished his medical education and became a professor as well as a president of the Bellevue Hospital Medical College . He received much recognition and fame for his 1882 book , " The Science and Art of Midwifery " , which quickly became a widely referenced text . Early life . Lusk was born and raised in Norwich , Connecticut . Lusk , the fifth generation of his family , was the son of Sylvester Graham Lusk and Elizabeth Freeman Lusk ( " née " Adams ) . Lusk attended a school run by local Reverend Albert Spooner in preparation for attending Yale College . However , his uncle believed that learning the old version of grammar from Spooner would get Lusk rejected from Yale , and for the winter of 1853 – 1854 , he attended Anthon ' s Grammar School at Murray Street , New York City . For the winter of 1854 – 1855 , Lusk was sent by his mother to Russell ' s Military School in New Haven , Connecticut to gain physical toughness through gymnastics . Studies and wartime . In 1855 , he enrolled at Yale University in the class of 1859 , but left school at the end of his freshman year and studied medicine in Berlin and Heidelberg from 1858 to 1861 . When the American Civil War broke out , he joined the Second New York Volunteers regiment . He moved through the ranks from Private to Assistant Adjutant General by 1863 . Unusually for his time , Lusk did not practice the usual custom of vilifying of the Southern soldiers ; his letters actually indicate that he respected the Southerners and spoke of " Yankee hordes " invading the Southerners ' " splendid plantations " . He was promoted to Captain on February 24 , 1862 ( retroactive to January 19 , 1862 ) , and resigned from the United States Volunteers on February 28 , 1863 , with the intention of going back to New York to take command of a regiment . He was instead appointed Assistant Adjutant - General ( with a rank of Captain ) and assigned to the staff of Daniel Tyler on June 26 , 1863 , but resigned just two months later on September 17 , 1863 , after his troops were sent to Delaware and marked as inactive . Returning to Bellevue Hospital Medical College , he finished medical school and received his M . D . in 1864 . He was the valedictorian of his graduating class . Lusk took part in engagements at Blackburn ' s Ford , First Bull Run , Port Royal , James Island , Second Bull Run , Antietam , Fredericksburg , and many other minor battles . He was also a staff officer of Isaac I . Stevens until Stevens ' death , and he commanded two companies during the Draft Riots of 1863 . On October 5 , 1886 , Lusk joined New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion of the United States . He also joined George Washington Post , No . 103 , Dept . New York , Grand Army of the Republic on March 17 , 1887 . After war . Personal life . Lusk married Mary H . Chittenden , on May 4 , 1864 , after he finished medical school . After that he spent one year in Europe studying under various medical professionals , though his New York Times obituary lists this time period as having lasted 4 years . He studied in Edinburgh with James Y . Simpson , in Vienna with Carl Braun , and then in Prague with Seifert . Lusk came back to New York in 1868 to establish his practice . In 1871 his wife died , and he was left with two sons and two daughters . Chittenden Memorial Library at Yale University was built in his wife ' s honor . Five years later , Lusk married Matilda Thore ( " née " Myer ) , with whom he had one daughter . Maltida died in 1892 . Professorships and awards . On his return from Europe , Lusk was appointed Professor of Physiology at Long Island College Hospital . In the winter of 1871 , on the invitation of Oliver Wendell Holmes , Sr . , Lusk moved to Boston to lecture on physiology at Harvard Medical School . Lusk was Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Bellevue Hospital Medical College until his death after the previous seatholder , Dr . George T . Elliot , died . At the same time as accepting the professorship , he also became co - editor of " The Medical Journal " , and held that position from 1871 to 1873 , and also became a visiting physician at Bellevue Hospital . Just a few hours later , Harvard offered him a position , which he declined . In 1890 , upon the hospital ' s consolidation with New York University Medical College , Lusk became President of Bellevue Hospital Medical College Lusk also received many other scientific awards and distinctions . These include : Medical work . Lusk wrote many medical papers , including his 1876 paper , " Nature , Causes and Prevention of Puerperal Fever " , which was one of the first papers to come out in support of germ theory . In 1882 , he published " The Science and Art of Midwifery " . The book achieved great sales in America and England , and was translated into many languages , including French , Italian , Spanish , Arabic . It went through four editions , the last of which was practically a rewrite . Lusk was either planning to or in the process of writing a fifth edition when he died . Lusk was also one of the first physicians to successfully perform a Caesarean section . In March 1887 , Lusk performed the second Caesarian section in the United States where both the mother and child survived . By some time in 1888 , he had already performed three fully successful Caesarian sections within the past year . Lusk was also a recognized authority on gynecology . Death . Lusk died , very suddenly and unexpectedly , of apoplexy on June 12 , 1897 . He was survived by five children ; two sons and two daughters from his first marriage and a daughter from his second . According to his obituary in the New York Times , he left a fortune of over three million dollars to his estate . At the time of his death , his eldest son was a Yale professor , and his younger son had just graduated from Yale in 1890 .