John Neill was born in Philadelphia on July 9, 1819 and graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1840. A skilled and charismatic surgeon and teacher, Neill held many academic and professional positions in Philadelphia. He held surgical positions primarily at Wills Eye Hospital (1839-1841, 1847) and the Pennsylvania Hospital (1852-1859). His prominent academic positions included Demonstrator of Anatomy, University of Pennsylvania (elected 1845), Lecturer, Medical Institute of Philadelphia (1846-1849), Chair of Surgery, Pennsylvania College (1854-1859), and Professor of Clinical Surgery, University of Pennsylvania (1874-1875). During the Civil War Neill single-handedly took the initiative to appropriate buildings for military hospital use. For his efforts he was appointed Medical Director of the forces from Pennsylvania. After the war, Neill was instrumental in founding the Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia, serving on the medical Board from 1872-1875. Neill's medical accomplishments include inventing an apparatus to treat fractures of the leg and modifying Desault's splint for femur fractures. Elected a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1846, he became curator of the College collections in 1849. Widely published in medical journals, Neill was preparing notes for the first chapter of a work on surgical principles at the time of his death, on 11 February 1880.
From the description of Notes taken from the lectures of N. Chapman, M.D., volume 1st, [between 1838 and 1840]. (College of Physicians of Philadelphia). WorldCat record id: 122632917
