Etheridge, James Henry, 1844-1899

Dr. James Etheridge was a physician who specialized in gynecology and obstetrics at Rush Medical College in Chicago. He was also an inventor and entrepreneur who developed a compound of manganese and iron called "artificial spiegeleisen" used in the Bessemer steel making process. This enabled American steel manufacturers to be more competitive by reducing their dependence on the importation of naturally occurring spiegeleisen from Europe.

From the description of James Etheridge papers, 1872-1897. (University of Illinois-Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 59668657

Alexis St. Martin received an accidental gunshot wound in his stomach on June 6, 1822, while he was employed at Fort Mackinac by the American Fur Company. Dr. William Beaumont (1785-1853), a United States Army surgeon, treated the wound, and temporarily cared for St. Martin in his home. The hole in St. Martin's stomach never closed completely, which allowed Dr. Beaumont to perform experiments and make observations about digestion and other processes of the stomach. The results of his research were published as Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion (Plattsburgh, 1833).

Alexis St. Martin fathered 17 children and later lived in Oakdale, Massachusetts, and St. Thomas, Québec. He died in Canada in 1880.

From the guide to the Alexis St. Martin collection, St. Martin, Alexis collection, 1879, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)