Lemuel Shattuck (15 October 1793,

Ashby, Massachusetts Ashby is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,193 at the 2020 census, which makes it the least populous municipality in Middlesex County. The Town of Ashby is primarily a bedroom community consisting almo ...

– 17 January 1859, Boston, Massachusetts) was a Boston politician, historian, bookseller and publisher.

Biography

He taught at

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

and Albany, NY and from 1818 to 1821 at the frontier outpost of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan Territory at a Lancastrian School. He was a merchant in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

, from 1823 until 1833. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1831. He was afterward a bookseller and publisher in Boston, a member of the

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

, and for several years a representative in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. In 1844 he was one of the founders of the

New England Historic Genealogical Society The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. NEHGS provides family history services through its staff, original scholarship, website,American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

in 1839. He also promoted legislation which required a better system for the registration of vital information. This law was passed in 1842. His work on a Boston census in 1845 resulted in him being summoned as a consultant for the 1850 United States Census. His Report on the Sanitary Condition of Massachusetts in 1850 on a sanitary survey of Massachusetts was later praised as amazingly far-sighted. His role in designing and implementing the Boston Census of 1845 took him to Washington to help design federal models based on the same. His Report of the Sanitary Commission of Massachusetts in 1850 has been described as a prophetic document in its anticipation of public health developments In 1825, he married Clarissa Baxter, and he was survived by three children.

Recognition

Lemuel Shattuck is remembered at the

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

where his name appears on the school's frieze. The names of 23 pioneers of public health and tropical medicine were chosen to be honored when the School was built in 1929.

Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Lemuel Shattuck Hospital is a 255-bed public health and teaching hospital in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts in the United States. Shattuck provides acute, subacute, and ambulatory care. Lemuel Shattuck, for whom the institution is named, w ...

in Boston is named after him. Shattuck Street in Boston, the street on which

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 ...

sits, is also named after Lemuel Shattuck.

Works

* ''History of Concord, Mass.'' (Boston, 1835) * ''Vital Statistics of Boston'' (1841) * ''The Census of Boston'' (1845) * ''Report on the Sanitary Condition of Massachusetts'' (1850) * ''Memorials of the Descendants of William Shattuck'' (1855)

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shattuck, Lemuel 1793 births 1859 deaths People from Concord, Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Boston City Council members Businesspeople from Massachusetts Historians of New England Members of the American Antiquarian Society 19th-century American politicians Environmental health practitioners Historians from Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople