Fessenden Nott Otis (6 March 1825 –24 May 1900) was an American physician, pioneer in the medical field of

urology Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

, and art collector. He studied art in New York and was a teacher of drawing and perspective before entering medical school.

Medical career

Otis studied at the

University of the City of New York New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, then at the

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the Scho ...

, from which he graduated in 1852. He worked as a ship's surgeon for the United States Mail and

Pacific Mail Steamship Company The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...

from 1853 to 1861. Otis became a New York City police surgeon in 1862, and he was the Delmit Dispensary's attending clinician and taught as a clinical lecturer, and later a clinical professor, at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. From 1870 to 1872, he served at the President of the Medical Board of the Police Department, a period that overlapped with his position as President of the Medical Board of the Strangers' Hospital from 1871 to 1873. In 1872, he was also President of the American Dermatological Society.

Art Education and Collecting

Otis primarily collected Japanese bronze sculpture and late-nineteenth-century American landscape paintings. His collection was sold at auction by Ortgies & Co. at the Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York, on December 4 and 5, 1890.

References

* * 1825 births 1900 deaths American artists American urologists {{US-physician-stub