University of Michigan. Department of Ophthalmology

The first chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, George E. Frothingham came to Ann Arbor in 1867 to serve as prosector of Surgery and assistant demonstrator of Anatomy. On March 29, 1870 the University of Michigan Board of Regents appointed Frothingham to the newly created position of lecturer in Ophthalmology. Two years later, the dean of the Medical School recommended that Frothingham be promoted to professorial status. Formal approval of a new position, Professor of Ophthalmology and Aural Surgery, was granted by the Regents on June 25, 1872. With this appointment, the University of Michigan was effectively establishing a new department, only the third department of ophthalmology constituted in an American school of medicine.

The department flourished during Frothingham's tenure. In 1878 alone, 33 cataract operations were performed at University Hospital constituting 55% of all surgical operations. At this time 90-95% of surgical operations performed on the eye were for cataracts. The demand for service was sufficient to warrant the addition of an eye and ear ward at the hospital in 1881 at a cost of $2500. This was the first such medical unit within an academic institution. The curriculum was formalized in 1880 to include three classes in ophthalmology: eye and ear clinic, ophthalmology and otology, and clinical ophthalmology.

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