Samuel Theobald (November 12, 1846 – December 30, 1930) was a clinical professor of

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 ...

and otology at

Johns Hopkins University Medical School The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

Early life

Theobald was born in Baltimore, the son of Elisha Warfield Theobald and his wife Sarah Frances Smith. The elder Theobald was a medical doctor, as was Samuel's older brother, Elisha Warfield, Jr. (see Smith-Theobald Family). Theobald's father died in 1851 so he was largely raised in the home of his grandfather, the surgeon

Nathan Ryno Smith Nathan Ryno Smith (May 21, 1797 – July 3, 1877) was an American surgeon and medical school professor. Smith was born in Cornish, New Hampshire. He was the son of Sarah Hall Chase and Nathan Smith. Like his father Smith went into the medical p ...

. Theobald had an uncle (one of N. R. Smith's sons) who was a demonstrator in anatomy at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

as well, but this uncle died in 1859. Theobald's great-grandmother was the botanist, Frances Penniman. Theobald completed his M.D. at the

in 1867. He then went to study ophthalmology in London and Vienna and otology in Vienna. Among other professors, Theobald studied under Jonathan Hutchinson and Soelberg Wells.

Career

In 1871, Theobald returned to Baltimore to practice these disciplines. In 1882, he was one of the founders of the Baltimore Eye, Ear and Throat Charity Hospital. In 1889 when the

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...

was opened Theobald was one of its original staff physicians. In 1893 when the Johns Hopkins Medical School opened, Theobald was a faculty member. Theobald also contributed to the development of

Theobald lacrimal probes Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tybal ...

and introduced the use of boric acid in the profession. Theobald wrote ''Prevalent Disease of the Eye''. He served as the 14th President of the American Ophthalmological Society. Theobald became emeritus in 1925, the same year that the

Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute The Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, also referred to as the Wilmer Eye Institute, is a component of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ophthalmologist William Holland Wilmer opened the Wilmer Eye Institute in 1925. Its home was c ...

was founded at Johns Hopkins.

Personal life

Around the time he completed his medical degree, Theobald married Caroline Dexter DeWolf (1848–1929). Together, they were the parents of: * Marguerite F. Theobald (1868–1944), who married John Eager Lloyd (1865–1943). * Caroline DeWolf Theobald (1869–1962), who married artist R. G. Harper Pennington in 1888. They divorced in 1913. * Samuel Theobald Jr. (1872–1956), an artist who married Elizabeth M. Sturtevant (1876–1939). * Frances Theobald (1875–1922), who married Stanley Howland (1875–1942). * Mary LeBaron Theobald (1892–1917) Theobald died on December 30, 1930.

References

External links

*
bio connected with the Theobald papers at Johns Hopkinsarticle on Theobald and ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald, Samuel 1846 births Physicians from Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty 1930 deaths American ophthalmologists