Eleazar Parmly (March 13, 1797 – December 13, 1874) was an American dentist in New York City during the early 1800s. He was the first Provost of The

University of Maryland School of Dentistry The University of Maryland School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University System of Maryland. It was founded as an independent institution, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in 1840 and was the birthplace of the Doctor of Denta ...

, the first dental school established in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He was the third of five brothers and his three brothers also pursued careers in dentistry.

Education and career

Parmly was born in 1797, in Braintree, Vermont. At the age of 23, Parmly moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to work as a dentist. In 1823, he moved back to the United States to practice in New York City, where he opened a dental shop on Bond Street. He was responsible for the development of American dentistry from a primitive craft to a respected profession with various national societies and journals. He also furthered the development of dental colleges. In addition to being a well-trained practitioner and educator, Parmly was a gifted poet and set down his autobiography in verse. He worked with several other famous dentists of the time, such as Solyman Brown,

Norman William Kingsley Norman William Kingsley (October 26, 1829 – February 20, 1913) was a dentist and an artist in the 19th century. He was a major contributor in the early development of orthodontic treatments and cleft palate therapy. He designed fixed and remova ...

, and Chapin A. Harris.

Death

Parmly died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on December 13, 1874, in New York City, at the age of 77.

References

American dentists 1797 births 1874 deaths People from Braintree, Vermont Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 19th-century dentists {{US-med-bio-stub