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Reynell Coates (December 10, 1802 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 Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

– April 27, 1886 in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

) was an American physician, scientist, teacher, poet and politician. Reynell Coates was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest son of philanthropist Samuel (1748–1830) and Amy (née Hornor) Coates, and grandson of Samuel and Mary (Langdale) Coates. At an early age, he became proficient in mathematics and languages, and studied medicine and surgery at

Pennsylvania Hospital Pennsylvania Hospital is a private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located in Center City Philadelphia and is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond, Pennsylv ...

, where at age fifteen he became an apprentice of Dr.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, ...

. He was graduated from the medical department of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1823 with a thesis on "Fractures of Inferior Extremities", and became resident physician at the hospital. The same year he voyaged to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as a ship's surgeon and made an extended

entomological Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

tour. In 1829 he accepted the chair of natural sciences at

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

. Joining the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

as surgeon, he made during a cruise a collection that furnished the material for a large volume. He was a member of the scientific corps of the first South Sea expedition under

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Thomas ap Catesby Jones Thomas ''ap'' Catesby Jones (24 April 1790 – 30 May 1858) was a U.S. Navy commissioned officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. Early life and education Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born on 24 April 1790 in Westmor ...

in 1835–36, and had charge of the department of comparative anatomy, but left the service on the return of the expedition.

Politics

He was also active in politics. He was the author of the national address of the

Native American Party The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

in 1844, and the originator of the Patriotic Order Sons of America December 10, 1847, and wrote its ritual. In the national election of 1852 he was the candidate of the Native American Party for vice-president of the United States, on the ticket with

Jacob Broom Jacob Broom (October 17, 1752 – April 25, 1810) was an American Founding Father, businessman, and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. As a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, he was a signer of the United States Constituti ...

, for president.

Medical and scientific contributions

Coates contributed voluminously to various medical and scientific journals, many of them being translated into the French, German, Spanish and Italian languages. He published ''Physiology for Schools'' (1840)—the first work of its kind—and ''Natural Philosophy for Schools'' (1845); besides other works. He wrote a monograph on "Hereditary Haemorrhage".

Literary contributions

He was the editor of ''

Graham's Magazine ''Graham's Magazine'' was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as ''Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine'' (1841–1842, and J ...

'' and contributed to the other literary journals of the time, both in prose and in verse. From 1845, he edited ''Leaflets of Memory: An Illuminated Annual'', an annual illustrated collection of short stories and verse, of which eleven volumes are known. Of his poems
The Gambler's Wife
(1846), "Christian Charity" and "The Drunkard's Child" were best known.

Family

He was married on December 5, 1827, to Margaretta, daughter of William Abbott of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and his only child died in infancy. In 1845, after the death of his wife and child, Coates moved to

, where he died in 1886. He was buried in

Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 ce ...

References

*''Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans'', John Howard Brown, Rossiter Johnson, eds., The Biographical Society, 1904. *''The Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Comprising the Men and Women of the United States Who Have Been Identified with the Growth of the Nation'', Volume 2, by John Howard Brown, James H. Lamb Co., 1899. Republished by Kessinger Publishing, 2006. , . *''A cyclopedia of American medical biography: comprising the lives of eminent deceased physicians and surgeons from 1610 to 1910'', Howard Atwood Kelly, W.B. Saunders company, 1920.

External links