Caspar Wistar (September 13, 1761January 22, 1818) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. He is sometimes referred to as Caspar Wistar the Younger, to distinguish him from his grandfather of the same name.

Biography

He was born at

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the son of Richard Wistar (1727–1781) and Sarah Wyatt (1733–1771). He was the grandson of

Caspar Wistar Caspar Wistar may refer to: * Caspar Wistar (glassmaker) (1696–1752), Pennsylvania glassmaker and landowner * Caspar Wistar (physician) Caspar Wistar (September 13, 1761January 22, 1818) was an American physician and anatomist. He is sometim ...

(1696–1752), a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrant,

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

maker.

Education

He was educated at the Friends' school in his native city, where he received a thorough classical training. His interest in

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 pract ...

began while he was aiding in the care of the wounded after the

battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Con ...

, and he made his first studies under the direction of Dr. John Redman. He studied medicine, first at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

(receiving his Bachelor of Medicine degree in 1782), and then at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

(receiving his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1786). While in Scotland he was, for two successive years, president of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, and also president of a society for the further investigation of natural history.

Career

Upon his return to the U.S. in January 1787, he entered on the practice of his profession in Philadelphia, where he was at once appointed one of the physicians to the Philadelphia Dispensary. He was professor of chemistry and the institutes of medicine in the College of Philadelphia from 1789 till 1792, when the faculty of that institution united with the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, of which he was adjunct professor of anatomy, midwifery, and surgery until 1808. In that year, on the death of his associate, Dr.

William Shippen Jr. William Shippen Jr. (October 21, 1736 – July 11, 1808), was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the 3rd Surgeons General of the United ...

, he was given the chair of anatomy, which he retained until his death. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1803. For his teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, he developed a set of anatomical models—human remains preserved by injecting them with wax—to assist with the teaching of anatomy. He published ''A System of Anatomy'' in two volumes from 1811 to 1814. His fame attracted students to his lectures, and he was largely the means of establishing the reputation of the school. Meanwhile, he was chosen physician to the Pennsylvania Hospital, where he remained until 1810. His reputation as an anatomist was increased by his description of the posterior portion of the

ethmoid bone The ethmoid bone (; from grc, ἡθμός, hēthmós, sieve) is an unpaired bone in the skull that separates the nasal cavity from the brain. It is located at the roof of the nose, between the two orbits. The cubical bone is lightweight due to a ...

with the triangular bones attached, which received universal recognition as an original treatment of the subject. He was an early promoter of

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

. During the

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

of 1793, he suffered an attack of the disease contracted while caring for his patients. It was his habit to throw open his house once every week in the winter, and at these gatherings students, citizens, scientists, and travelers met and discussed subjects of interest. These assemblies, celebrated in the annals of Philadelphia under the title of Wistar parties, were continued long after his death by other residents of that city. The

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults.Sokanu "What is an Internist?" Retrieved October 20, 2014 With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest ...

elected him a fellow in 1787, and he was appointed one of its censors in 1794, which place he retained until his death. In 1787 he was elected to membership 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 ...

, served as curator until he was chosen its vice-president in 1795, and on the resignation of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, in 1815, served as president until his death. He also served as president of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery, succeeding

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, ...

. The

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Thomas Nuttall Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an England, English botany, botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle, North Yorkshire, S ...

named the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north o ...

'' in his honour (some call it ''Wistaria'' but the misspelling is conserved under the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

). The '' Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology'' at the

, founded in 1892 by his great-nephew,

Isaac Jones Wistar Isaac Jones Wistar (November 14, 1827 – September 18, 1905) was an American lawyer, miner, farmer, soldier, and author. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, in which he was wounded twice, and was noted for his criticiz ...

, is also named for Caspar Wistar. Wistar was a friend of

, with whom he worked to identify bones of the

megalonyx ''Megalonyx'' (Greek, "large claw") is an extinct genus of ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae, native to North America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event at the end of th ...

and through whom he tutored

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

, including recommendations for scientific inquiry on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Family

In 1788 he married Isabella Marshall, who died in 1790. He married Elizabeth Mifflin in 1798. His brother Richard (20 July 1756 – 6 June 1821) was a Philadelphia merchant who built a large four-story store in 1790 where he conducted an iron and hardware business. With the profits, he purchased lands and houses in the vicinity of Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War, Richard advocated the defense of his property by arms, which resulted in his being disowned by the Society of Friends. Richard was an inspector of prisons, and was one of the early friends and supporters of the

Library Company of Philadelphia The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of hist ...

and the Pennsylvania Hospital. Caspar was a cousin of Revolutionary diarist

Sally Wister Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...

and nephew of Samuel Morris.

Death

Wistar died on January 22, 1818, of a "severe attack of typhus fever".

Sources

The Wistar-Wister Family
*

References

External links

Portrait attributed to Bass Otis at the Schwarz Gallery in Philadelphia

Caspar Wistar paper
at th
American Philosophical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wistar, Caspar 1761 births 1818 deaths Physicians from Philadelphia American people of German descent People of colonial Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century American physicians 19th-century American physicians American anatomists University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology faculty American abolitionists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Wister family