In celebration of Presidents Day, check out the stories of three of the University's faculty and alumni.
In celebration of Presidents Day, Historical Collections at the HSHSL is looking back on the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s connections to the U.S. presidency. With a founding date of 1807, UMB is just 31 years shy of sharing a birthyear with the United States, and with a home in Baltimore a mere 38 miles from Washington, D.C., it is not surprising to find ties to the presidency. Check out these stories of three UMB faculty and alumni:
Robley Dunglison, School of Medicine Faculty Member, 1833-1836; School of Medicine Dean, 1834-1835
Dr. Robley Dunglison served as physician to four U.S. presidents: President Thomas Jefferson, President James Monroe, President Andrew Jackson, and President James Madison.
Dunglison was born in England in January 1798. He studied medicine at the Universities of Edinburgh and Paris before receiving his medical degree from the University of Erlangen in Germany in 1824. Soon after, he was recruited by Francis Walker Gilmer on behalf of third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia to found its School of Medicine. While there, Dunglison was professor of anatomy and medicine and served as the personal physician for Jefferson, who reportedly was distrustful of doctors until he met Dunglison. In 1826, when Jefferson died, Dunglison was at his bedside.
Dunglison also formed a friendship with fourth U.S. President James Madison. Madison, like Jefferson, respected Dunglison so much he would not take any medicine without his approval. Dunglison dedicated his Human Physiology textbook to Madison in 1832.
Dunglison's service to U.S. Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson was less intimate. Dunglison treated Monroe, while he served as president as well as after his term. Jackson was treated once by Dunglison for “pain in his side.”
Dunglison came to the University of Maryland in 1833 as professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Hygiene and Medical Jurisprudence and established the first medical school course on preventive medicine in America. Dunglison also published the first American textbook on hygiene and preventative medicine. In 1834, he was named the 11th dean of the School of Medicine; he held the position until 1835. In 1836, Dunglison moved to Philadelphia as professor of Institutes of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College; in 1854 he was named dean, which he held until his retirement in 1868.
Henry Albert Parr, Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Class of 1884
Dr. Henry Albert Parr was born in Canada in 1843. He joined the Confederate Army, serving under Gen. John Hung Morgan until he escaped capture at a raid by Union troops in Ohio and Indiana in July 1863. Following this raid, he became a spy for the Confederates. As a spy he was involved in the takeover of the steamship Chesapeake, where the engineer, Owen Schaffer, was killed.
Following the Civil War, Parr returned to Canada and established a dental and pharmaceutical practice. He returned to the United States in 1878 and was charged with the death of Schaffer. He was granted amnesty for this crime by a law protecting former Confederate soldiers from their war crimes passed by President Andrew Johnson.
After charges were dropped, Parr came to Baltimore to attend the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (merged with the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1924), graduating in 1884. Parr became a clinical instructor in Mechanical Corps with the school following graduation, remaining until 1888. He set up a practice in New York and became a nationally known expert in crowns and bridgework, inventing and patenting the Universal Separator.
His expertise attracted the attention of former Civil War Gen. and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia, in 1884 as well as President Chester A. Arthur. In 1926, the gold and platinum plates belonging to these patients were stolen from Parr along with what is rumored to be the first removable bridge made. These items were never recovered.
James Julius Richardson, School of Medicine, Class of 1889
Dr. James Julius Richardson was born in Sardis, Ohio, in 1868; his family moved to Martinsville, West Virginia, in his youth. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 1889 at age 18, after which he traveled to Europe to attend medical lectures and gain experience. Upon returning to the United States, he set up practice in Washington, D.C., and became a leading nose and throat specialist. Due to his expertise and location, he served as personal physician and throat specialist for Presidents William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding.
As personal physician to Roosevelt and Taft, Richardson traveled on campaign and speaking tours to help care and maintain the politicians’ voices. As physician to Taft, it is reported that Richardson tried to keep the president from speaking when not on stage, a tactic that reportedly did not work. In addition to the doctor’s high-profile clients, Richardson helped to found the American College of Surgeons.
References:
Baltimore College of Dental Surgery Academic Catalogs: https://archive.hshsl.umaryland.edu/handle/10713/138/browse?type=dateissued.
Centuries of Leadership: Deans of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. (2000). University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10713/4797.
“Dr. James J. Richardson Is Dead at Atlantic City.” (29 Jun 1933). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962); ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Tribune / Herald Tribune. Pg. 23
“Dr. Parr Dead; Dental Surgeon Here 50 Years.” (6 Aug 1932). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962); ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Tribune / Herald Tribune. Pg. 11.
Hinton Daily News. (3 Jul 1933). Newspapers.com: World Collection. Pg. 4.
“Keeping Taft Well.” (1 Oct 1909). The Florida Star. Newspapers.com: World Collection. Pg. 3.
Pitrof, Larry. (2006). 1807-2007: University of Maryland School of Medicine: The First Two Centuries. Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland, Inc.: Baltimore.