Gilbert Stuart Portrait of Doctor James Lloyd II

James Lloyd (24 March 1728–14 March 1810) was an American

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and obstetrician. He was born at the Manor of Queens Village on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

to Henry Lloyd and Rebecca Nelson. His father’s sizable collection of medical texts may have inspired him to pursue a career as a doctor. James apprenticed and studied under the Boston physicians Silvester Gardiner and John Clark between 1745 and 1748, and, in 1749, traveled to London to work as a resident at

Guy’s Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. I ...

. There, he learned groundbreaking surgical techniques like flap amputations, and attended lectures performed by pioneering surgeons and obstetricians. In 1759, Lloyd married Sarah Comrin (Comryn) (1734-1797) in Boston, Mass. Together they had two children: Sarah and James Lloyd III. After completing his tenure in London, Lloyd returned to Boston, where, in addition to opening his own practice in surgery and obstetrics, he showed a commitment to educating a new generation of physicians. He performed lectures on the techniques he had learned abroad and apprenticed at least ten young doctors between 1760 and 1790. He was elected as a member to 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 ...

in 1771. At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Lloyd was serving as a surgeon for a British military unit based near Boston. For this, he was labeled a traitor and jailed, but was soon released in the hopes that he would use his medical skill to serve the patriot cause. After the war, the British offered Lloyd financial redress for his war-ravaged Long Island manor if he would become a British citizen. He refused. Lloyd was a founder of the Massachusetts Medical Society and thought to be the first specialized obstetrician in America. James Lloyd died in Boston in 1810. John Sylverster John Gardiner gave his funeral sermon at Trinity Church in Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, James 1728 births 1810 deaths Members of the American Philosophical Society American obstetricians