John Kearny Rodgers (October 18, 1793 – November 9, 1851) was an American surgeon who was known for his skill in both ophthalmic and

vascular surgery Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries, veins and lymphatic circulation, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty ...

. He was the co-founder (with

Edward Delafield Edward Delafield (May 7, 1794 – February 13, 1875) was an American physician, primarily known as an ophthalmologist, but also for his work in obstetrics and gynaecology. He was the co-founder (with John Kearney Rodgers) of the New York Eye In ...

) of the New York Eye Infirmary and a Fellow and Trustee of the

New York College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded ...

Life and career

Rodgers was born in New York City in 1794, the elder son of John Richardson Bayard Rodgers and Susannah Ravaud Kearny. His father was a physician who served as a surgeon in the

Revolutionary Army In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

and was later a professor at the

. His paternal grandfather, John Rodgers, was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan for many years. Rodgers's younger brother, Ravaud Kearney Rodgers (1796–1879), also became a Presbyterian minister. Rodgers studied as an undergraduate at

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, followed by medical studies at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and training with Wright Post, a prominent New York surgeon. After graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1816, he and his fellow student there,

, went to London for further training. Both of them focused on

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, which they studied at

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist NHS eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, which is adjacent ...

(then called the London Dispensary for Curing Diseases of the Eye and Ear). In 1818, shortly after his return to New York, Rodgers was appointed as a demonstrator in the anatomy department of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and also went into private practice. In 1820, he and Delafield founded the New York Eye Infirmary which provided free eye care to the poor of New York City. For the first two years, the two young doctors financed the infirmary themselves.Kara (1973) Rodgers continued to serve as the infirmary's surgeon for many years. In 1822, he was also appointed as surgeon to the

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

, a position he held until his death in 1851.Hubbell (1907) p. 65 In a biographical sketch read before the New York Academy of Medicine on October 6, 1852, Edward Delafield noted that in the course of his career, Rodgers had also been a consulting surgeon to the New York Lying-In Asylum, the Institution for the Blind, and the Emigrants' Hospital. He was also an honorary member of the New York Pathological Society and a former president of the New York County Medical Society and vice-president of the Academy of Medicine. Rodgers had married Mary Ridgely Nicholson in 1823. The couple had two sons and four daughters before her death from tuberculosis. He married Emily Hosack, the youngest daughter of

David Hosack David Hosack (August 31, 1769 – December 22, 1835) was a noted American physician, botanist, and educator. He remains widely known as the doctor who tended to the fatal injuries of Alexander Hamilton after his duel with Aaron Burr in July 1 ...

, in November 1846 and had two more daughters.Delafield (1852) Five years after their marriage, Rodgers died from liver inflammation followed by

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...

. He was attended by several physicians during his month-long illness, with serious disagreements between them as to the appropriateness of his treatment and the ultimate cause of his death. Shortly afterwards, one of the physicians, Alexander Eddy Hosack (who was also Rodgers's brother-in-law), wrote a treatise on his death, "History of the Case of the Late John Kearney Rodgers, M.D: Addressed to the Profession", in which he criticised the treatments used by the other physicians.''The New Hampshire Journal of Medicine'' (March 1852) p. 188Hosack (1851).

References

Notes Sources *Delafield, Edward (1852)
"Biographical sketch of J. Kearny Rodgers, M.D"
Printed by G.A.C. Van Beuren. Retrieved 18 May 2013. *Hosack, Alexander E. (1851)
"History of the Case of the Late John Kearney Rodgers, M.D: Addressed to the Profession"
Printed by S.W. Benedict. Retrieved 18 May 2013. *Hubbell, Alvin Allace (1907)
''The Development of Ophthalmology in America, 1800 to 1870''
American Medical Association Press *Kara, Gerald B. (1973)

''New York State Journal of Medicine'', Vol 73, No. 23, December 1, 1973. Retrieved 18 May 2013. *''The New Hampshire Journal of Medicine'' (March 1852)
"The Case of Dr. J. K. Rodgers"
pp. 188–195 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, John Kearney 1793 births 1851 deaths American surgeons Princeton University alumni New York College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Columbia Medical School faculty American ophthalmologists