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Philip Physick Biography

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PHYSICK Philip Syng, surgeon, born in Philadelphia, Penn., July 7, 1768; died there Dec. 15, 1837. In 1785 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, studied medicine in Philadelphia and London, and in 1791 received a license from the Royal College of Surgeons in the latter city. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia he acquired a reputation as a successful practitioner, and the following year became surgeon of the Pennsylvania Hospital. His successful treatment of various diseases and the introduction and improvement of numerous useful instruments caused him to be called the "Father of American Surgery." Among the honors bestowed upon him are a degree by the University of Edinburgh in 1792; the presidency of the Phrenological Society of Philadelphia in 1822; and membership in the French Academy of Medicine in 1825. He was recognized by a large number of other societies and organizations.