George Cheyne Shattuck Choate (March 30, 1827 – June 4, 1896) was an American physician and the founder of Choate House, a psychiatric sanatorium.

Biography

He was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, on March 30, 1827, to Margaret Manning (Hodges) and George Choate. His siblings included William Gardner and

Joseph Hodges Choate Joseph Hodges Choate (January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917) was an American lawyer and diplomat. Choate was associated with many of the most famous litigations in American legal history, including the Kansas prohibition cases, the Chinese exclusi ...

. Choate graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1846 and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

in 1849. He married Susan Osgood Kittredge (1830-1925). Choate eventually moved to

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, where he established his own sanitarium. Choate added a wing to his house for use of his sanitarium to house patients being treated for mental and nervous disorders. One of Choate's most famous patients was politician and ''

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' founder Horace Greeley. Following his defeat for the

presidency of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

in 1872, Greeley checked into Choate’s sanitarium, where he died a few weeks later. The Choate family also established the Choate School in

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

. He died on June 4, 1896.

Legacy

Choate died in 1896, but his sanitarium remained open for another decade. In 1909, Choate's widow had the wing her husband had constructed moved to its present location—just a stone's throw away from its former location—using horses, and at an inch at a time, it took about six months to move. Mrs. Choate lived there until her death, at age 95, in 1926. Today, Choate's sanitarium is now "Marks Hall",http://appserv.pace.edu/emplibrary/markshall.jpg and his former residence is now known as " Choate House", both of which are located on the Pleasantville campus of

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choate, George Cheyne Shattuck 1827 births 1896 deaths Physicians from Massachusetts Harvard Medical School alumni Choate family People from Salem, Massachusetts People from Wallingford, Connecticut Harvard College alumni