Charles Caldwell (May 14, 1772 – July 9, 1853) was a noted 19th-century U.S. physician who is best known for starting what would become the

University of Louisville School of Medicine The University of Louisville School of Medicine at the University of Louisville is a medical school located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Opened as the Louisville Medical Institute in 1837, it is one of the oldest medical schools in Nor ...

and is one of the earliest proponents of

Polygenism Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins (''polygenesis''). This view is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity. Modern scientific views no ...

in the United States.

Early life

Charles Caldwell was born on May 14, 1772 in

Caswell County, North Carolina Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yanceyville. Partially bordering the state of Virginia, ...

. His parents were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants. Caldwell earned an M.D. from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

in 1796 while studying under

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

Career

Caldwell practiced medicine in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and was a lecturer at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. He also edited the "Port Folio" (one of the day's primary medical magazines) and published over 200 medical publications. Caldwell was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1815. A significant number of copies of Caldwell's 18th and 19th century publications, including copies of the ''Port folio'', survive in the collections of the AAS. Other institutions holding original copies of Caldwell's publications include the

United States National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

, and Harvard's Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. In 1819, Caldwell left Philadelphia to join the fledgling medical school at Lexington, Kentucky's

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

, where he quickly turned the school into the region's strongest. In 1821, he became a

Francophile A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...

and convinced the Kentucky General Assembly to purchase $10,000 worth of science and medical books from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, many of which are still held at the university. Despite his success, his "abrasive" and "arrogant" temperament created enemies at Transylvania. The university's medical program would fold soon afterwards. The school dismissed him in 1837, and he then traveled with several colleagues to Louisville, where they created the

Louisville Medical Institute The Louisville Medical Institute was a medical school founded in 1837 in Louisville, Kentucky. It would be merged with two other colleges into the University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in ...

. As at Transylvania, he made the new school an instant success, with its rapid growth into one of the region's best medical schools. However, he was forced out in 1849 due to a personal rivalry with Lunsford Yandell. Caldwell was one of the earliest supporters of

polygenism Polygenism is a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins (''polygenesis''). This view is opposite to the idea of monogenism, which posits a single origin of humanity. Modern scientific views no ...

in America. Caldwell attacked the position that environment was the cause of racial differences and argued instead that four races, Caucasion, Mongolian, American Indian, and Africans, were four different species, created separately by God. Caldwell was one of the earlier of the U.S. physicians who argued for polygenism; his work was subsequently cited by

Josiah Nott Josiah Clark Nott (March 31, 1804March 31, 1873) was an American surgeon and anthropologist. He is known for his studies into the etiology (medicine), etiology of yellow fever and malaria, including Germ theory of disease, the theory that they o ...

in ''Types of Mankind'' and he was followed by physicians such as

Samuel Henry Dickson Samuel Henry Dickson (September 20, 1798 - March 31, 1872) was an American poet, physician, writer and educator born in Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina. Dickson graduated from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. He w ...

and

John Edwards Holbrook John Edwards Holbrook (December 31, 1796 – September 8, 1871) was an American zoologist, herpetologist, physician, and naturalist, born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards. Although Holbrook's memo ...

. Caldwell used his theories to defend the institution of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

and owned domestic slaves himself.

Death

Caldwell died on July 9, 1853,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He was buried at

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buria ...

in Louisville.

Selected works

''An attempt to establish the original sameness of three phenomena of fever'' (1796)

''A semi-annual oration, on the origin of pestilential diseases'' (1799)

''An eulogium to the memory of Dr. Samuel Cooper'' (1799)

''Medical & physical memoirs: containing, among other subjects, a particular enquiry into the origin and nature of the late pestilential epidemics of the United States'' (1801)

''An oration on the causes of the difference, in point of frequency and force, between the endemic diseases of the United States of America, and those of the countries of Europe'' (1802)

''An eulogium to the memory of Mr. George Lee'' (1802)

''An essay on the pestilential or yellow fever: as it prevailed in Philadelphia in the year eighteen hundred and five'' (1807)

''An anniversary oration on the subject of quarantines'' (1807)

''An eulogium on Caspar Wistar, M.D., professor of anatomy'' (1818)

''Outlines of a course of lectures on the institutes of medicine'' (1823)

''Elements of phrenology'' (1824)

''Introductory address on independence of intellect'' (1825)

''Thoughts on febrile miasms'' (1830)

''An address on the vice of gambling'' (1834)
*
Thoughts on Physical Education, being a Discourse delivered to a Convention of Teachers in Lexington, KY. on the 6th and 7th of Nov., 1833
' (1834).
''Thoughts on the spirit of improvement, the selection of its objects, and its proper direction'' (1835)

''Phrenology vindicated, and antiphrenology unmasked'' (1838)

''Autobiography of Charles Caldwell, M.D'' (1855)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Charles 1772 births 1853 deaths People from Kentucky Transylvania University faculty Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Louisville faculty Members of the American Antiquarian Society American slave owners American people of Irish descent Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery