Shippen, William, Jr., 1736-1808

<p>William Shippen, Jr., son of William Shippen and Susanna Harrison, was born in Philadelphia on October 21, 1736. He received a sound classical education intertwined with firm religious guidance at the Rev. Dr. Samuel Finley’s Nottingham Academy. He then went on to study at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), graduating with an A.B. in 1754. His valedictory address at the commencement exercises of that year impressed Ezra Stiles as an “ingenious oration” and was compared in eloquence to speeches of Roman orators by George Whitefield.</p>

<p>Shippen next served a medical apprenticeship under his father in Philadelphia. In 1758, with financial aid from his uncle, Edward Shippen III, he went to England to study under Drs. John Hunter, William Hunter, and MacKenzie. After completing his dissertation, entitled “De Placentae cum Utero Nexu,” Shippen graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1761. Following a short visit to France, he returned to Philadelphia in May 1762.</p>

<p>On November 16, 1762, with his father’s assistance, Shippen inaugurated a series of lectures on anatomy, surgery, and the practice of midwifery. His lectures on anatomy were the first ever delivered in America and incorporated anatomical drawings and casts made by the famous Dutch painter, Jan Van Rymsdyk. By 1765, Shippen offered a complete course in midwifery to both women and men. Because many people found male midwifery offensive, rocks periodically shattered the windows in his lab and mobs burst into his dissecting rooms. Despite these controversies, Shippen became increasingly successful and was elected professor of anatomy and surgery in the newly founded medical department of the College of Philadelphia on September 23, 1765.</p>

<p>William Shippen Jr. (October 21, 1736 – July 11, 1808), was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the 3rd Director General of Hospitals of the Continental Army.</p>

<p>He was born on October 21, 1736, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William Shippen Sr. (1712–1801), also a doctor, and Susannah (née Harrison) Shippen. His sister, Susan Shippen, was married to Samuel Blair, the second Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives.</p>

<p>He studied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), graduating in 1754. He studied medicine first with his father, then went to England and Scotland and in 1761 earned his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh Medical School.</p>