Turpin, P.J.F. (Pierre Jean François), 1775-1840

By the time of his death at age 49, Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815) had become one of the best known citizens in the city of Philadelphia, one of the leaders in American medical education, and one of the more controversial figures in American natural history.

Although it is clear, as he maintained, that Barton received training in medicine at elite European universities, the details of his medical education are at best murky. In 1786, Barton entered Edinburgh University under the recommendation of his mentors in Philadelphia, including Benjamin Rush. Ingratiating himself personally and distinguishing himself professionally, Barton joined both the Edinburgh Natural History Society and the Royal Medical Society, receiving the latter's Harveian Prize for his work on Hyosciannus niger, the black henbane. Such early signs of success, however, soon turned sour. By the winter of 1788, Barton withdrew from Edinburgh, claiming that he had been neglected by his professors, although it is equally plausible that he had worn out his welcome through his penchant for borrowing, and not readily repaying, money from colleagues, and perhaps from the Royal Medical Society.

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