Austin Flint I (October 20, 1812 – March 13, 1886) was an American physician. He was a founder of Buffalo Medical College, precursor to
The State University of New York at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
. He served as president of the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's state ...
.
Biography
Flint was born at
Petersham, Massachusetts
Petersham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2020 census. Petersham is home to a considerable amount of conservation land, including the Quabbin Reservation, Harvard Forest, the Swift R ...
on October 20, 1812 to Joseph Henshaw Flint (1786-1846) and Hannah Willard Reed. He was educated at
Amherst Amherst may refer to:
People
* Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst''
* Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
and
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and graduated at the latter in 1833.
After practicing at
Boston, Massachusetts and
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an acade ...
, he moved to
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, in 1836. He was appointed professor of the institutes and practices of medicine in
Rush Medical College
Rush Medical College is the medical school of Rush University, located in the Illinois Medical District, about 3 km (2 miles) west of the Loop in Chicago. Offering a full-time Doctor of Medicine program, the school was chartered in 1837, and ...
in Chicago, Illinois; resigned after one year, in 1846, and established the ''
Buffalo Medical Journal''. With Doctors White and
Frank Hastings Hamilton
Frank Hastings Hamilton (September 13, 1813 in Wilmington, Vermont – August 11, 1886 in New York City, New York) was an American surgeon.
Hamilton was the son of Calvin and Lucinda (Hastings) Hamilton. Through his mother, he was a descendant o ...
he founded the
Buffalo Medical College in 1847, where he was professor of the principles and practice of medicine for six years. He was afterward professor of the theory and practice of medicine in the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
, Ky., from 1852 to 1856. He was then called to the
chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...
of
pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
and
clinical medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
at Buffalo. From 1858 to 1861 he was professor of clinical medicine in the School of Medicine at
. In 1859 he moved to New York and in 1861 was appointed visiting physician to
Bellevue Hospital
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
; from 1861 to his death, in 1886, he was professor of the principles and practice of medicine in
Bellevue Hospital Medical College
NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
(consolidated with the medical department of New York University in 1898), and from 1861 to 1868 he was professor of pathology and practical medicine in
Long Island College Hospital
University Hospital of Brooklyn at Long Island College Hospital (or LICH) was a 506-bed teaching hospital located in the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. The hospital was founded in 1858 as Long Island Coll ...
.
He was president of the
New York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...
from 1872 to 1885 and president of the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016.
The AMA's state ...
in 1884. He was elected as a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1880.
He died on March 13, 1886 in
Manhattan, New York City
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
. His funeral was held at Christ Church United Methodist at the corner of
Fifth-avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
and Thirty-fifth-street in Manhattan. His body was on display at his home 418
Fifth-avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
.
Publications
His published works include:
''The reciprocal duties and obligations of the medical profession and the public.''(1844)
''Clinical reports on continued fever based on analyses of one hundred and sixty-four cases.''(1852)
''Clinical report on chronic pleurisy: based on an analysis of forty-seven cases.''(1853)
''On variations of pitch in percussion and respiratory sounds, and their application to physical diagnosis.''(1852)
''Clinical report on dysentery: based on an analysis of forty-nine cases with remarks on the causation, pathology and management of the disease.''(1853)
''Clinical Reports on Continued Fever Based on Analyses of One Hundred and Sixty-Four Cases.''(1855)
''Physical Exploration in the Diagnosis of Diseases of the Respiratory Organs.''(1856; revised second edition, 1868)
''Diseases of the Heart''(1859; second edition, 1870)
''Experimental researches into a new excretory function of the liver.''(1862)
*''Principles and Practice of Medicine'' (1866; revised fifth edition, 1884)
''Medical Essays on Conservative Medicine and Kindred Topics''(1874)
''Clinical Medicine''(1879)
*''On
Phthisis
Phthisis may refer to:
Mythology
* Phthisis (mythology), Classical/Greco-Roman personification of rot, decay and putrefaction
Medical terms
* Phthisis bulbi, shrunken, nonfunctional eye
* Phthisis miliaris, miliary tuberculosis
* Phthisis pulmo ...
'' (1883)
*''Manual of
Auscultation
Auscultation (based on the Latin verb ''auscultare'' "to listen") is listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory and respiratory systems (hea ...
and Percussion'' (revised third edition, 1883)
''Medicine of the future''(1886)
See also
*
Flint's murmur a loud presystolic
murmur at the apex in aortic regurgitation. From
Dorland's Medical Dictionary
''Dorland's'' is the brand name of a family of medical reference works (including dictionaries, spellers and word books, and spell-check software) in various media spanning printed books, CD-ROMs, and online content. The flagship products are ''Do ...
(1938)
Publications
*Carpenter, ''Life of Austin Flint'' (New York, 1886)
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flint, Austin
19th-century American physicians
American science writers
Amherst College alumni
Physicians from New York City
Physicians from Buffalo, New York
Harvard University alumni
Rush University faculty
New York University faculty
1812 births
1886 deaths
People from Petersham, Massachusetts
Physicians from Massachusetts
Presidents of the American Medical Association