Peter Dirck Keyser (February 8, 1835 – March 9, 1897) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, 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. Followin ...

Biography

Peter Dirck Keyser was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania on February 8, 1835.

Studies

He studied at

Delaware College The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

until 1851, when he entered the

chemical laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratory services are provided in a variety of settings: physici ...

of Frederick A. Genth, and there made analyses of

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s, the results of which were published in the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'', and were afterward incorporated in Dana's ''Mineralogy''. In 1856 he went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and pursued professional studies for two years.

Civil War service

Soon after the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he became captain in the 91st Pennsylvania Regiment, and served with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

until after the

Battle of Fair Oaks The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, nearby Sandston, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was th ...

. Failing health then led to his resignation. He returned to Germany, where he studied at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

, and then at that of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, receiving there the degree of

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1864. On his return to the United States, he was appointed acting assistant surgeon in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, and was detailed to Cuyler Hospital in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1865 he resigned from the service to enter on his private practice. On April 15, 1865, Keyser was one of three co-Founders of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

, or

MOLLUS The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. It was the first post-Civil War veterans' organization, and was open to men who had served in the suppression of the Rebellion and who had held a commission in the armed forces of the United States. He was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 00003. The organization exists today, composed largely of the descendants of those officers.

Medical practice

He became director of the Philadelphia Eye and Ear Infirmary. In 1868 he delivered a course of lectures to physicians upon the accommodation and refraction of the eye, and in 1870 he delivered the first regular course of clinical lectures on ophthalmology that ever was given in Philadelphia, repeating the course in 1871-72. Keyser was elected ophthalmic surgeon to the medical department of the Philadelphia German Society in 1870, and one of the surgeons to the Wills Ophthalmic Hospital in 1872.

Memberships and writings

Keyser was a member of medical societies and of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and he was a contributor of medical papers to the journals of his profession both in the United States and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. His earlier works were on

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

; later he published ''Report on Operations for Cataract'' (1874), and other papers in the same field.

Death

Peter Dirck Keyser died at his home in Philadelphia on March 9, 1897.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Peter Dirck 1835 births 1897 deaths American chemists American ophthalmologists University of Jena alumni Physicians from Philadelphia University of Delaware alumni People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War 19th-century American people Founders of lineage societies