caption resting_place death_date death_place religion birth_place birth_date known_for signature image article_title occupation
portrait 1818 by charles willson peale , '' circa '' christ church burial ground , philadelphia 19 april 1813 philadelphia , pennsylvania , us presbyterian byberry , philadelphia county , pennsylvania , us 04 january 1746 signer of the united states declaration of independence benjamin rush signature.png benjamin rush painting by peale.jpg benjamin rush
 physician , writer , educator
benjamin rush

benjamin rush -lrb- -- april 19 , 1813 -rrb- was a founding father of the united states .
rush was a civic leader in philadelphia , where he was a physician , politician , social reformer , educator and humanitarian , as well as the founder of dickinson college in carlisle , pennsylvania .
rush signed the declaration of independence and attended the continental congress .
he served as surgeon general in the continental army .
rush became a professor of chemistry , medical theory , and clinical practice at the university of pennsylvania .
rush was a leader of the american enlightenment , and an enthusiastic supporter of the american revolution .
he was a leader in pennsylvania 's ratification of the constitution in 1788 .
he was prominent in many reforms , especially in the areas of medicine and education .
he opposed slavery , advocated free public schools , and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system .
as a leading physician , rush had a major impact on the emerging medical profession .
as an enlightenment intellectual , he was committed to organizing all medical knowledge around explanatory theories , rather than rely on empirical methods .
rush argued that illness was the result of imbalances in the body 's physical system and was caused by malfunctions in the brain .
his approach prepared the way for later medical research , but rush himself undertook none of it .
he promoted public health by advocating clean environment and stressing the importance of personal and military hygiene .
his study of mental disorder made him one of the founders of american psychiatry .
