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Dr. Solomon Drowne (also known as Solomon Drown) (March 11, 1753 – February 5, 1834) was a prominent American physician, academic and surgeon during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and in the history of the fledgling United States.


Early life

Drowne was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1753. His father (also named Solomon, as was his father) was a merchant and was heavily involved in the civic affairs of the town. The Drowne family was also active in the
First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as the First Baptist Meetinghouse. It is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Pro ...
. Drowne's great-uncle
Shem Drowne Deacon Shem Drowne (December 4, 1683 – January 13, 1774) was a colonial coppersmith and tinplate worker in Boston, Massachusetts, and was America's first documented weathervane maker. He is most famous for the grasshopper weathervane atop of Fan ...
made the famous grasshopper weather vane atop of Faneuil Hall in Boston. In 1772, Drown witnessed the burning of a British ship in an event known as the
Gaspée Affair The ''Gaspee'' Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. HMS ''Gaspee'' was a British customs schooner that enforced the Navigation Acts in and around Newport, Rhode Island, in 1772. It ran aground in shallow ...
. The following year, he graduated from the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the original name for
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...
) and received medical degrees from Dartmouth College and the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).


American Revolutionary War

From 1776 to 1780, during the Revolutionary War, Drowne served as a surgeon in different hospitals and with different regiments throughout the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
. On July 3, 1776, he narrowly escaped being captured by the British while gathering medical supplies in New York City. While stationed and treating soldiers at Rhode Island, he gained the favor of
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
, the
Comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
, the
Comte d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of th ...
and other
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
military officers supporting the American cause. In autumn 1780, he became surgeon on board the privateer
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular s ...
''Hope'' owned by Joseph Nightingale and John Innis Clarke, keeping a diary that was later published. Drowne was discharged from the
1st Rhode Island Regiment The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the Ameri ...
on June 15, 1783, receiving a Badge of Merit for six years' faithful service.


After the war

In 1783, Drowne was elected to the
Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Provide ...
(then still known as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ) board of fellows. He traveled to Europe, touring various medical facilities and schools and meeting
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...
and Thomas Jefferson in Paris. Returning home, he practiced medicine in Providence, Rhode Island until 1788, when he settled in Marietta, Ohio with other war veterans. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1790. As his health declined, Drowne moved from Marietta to Morgantown, Virginia (now West Virginia), Union, Pennsylvania and back to Rhode Island in 1801.


Later life

Drowne was a close friend of
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
Theodore Foster, whom he had met at college. In 1801 Drowne returned to Rhode Island and bought a farm next to Senator Foster in
Foster, Rhode Island Foster is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2020 census. History Foster was originally settled in the 17th century by British colonists as a farming community. In the year 1662, ...
naming his farm Mt. Hygeia after the Greek goddess of health. Drowne used the farm for botanical research and named his driveway the "
Appian Way The Appian Way ( Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name ...
". (As near as can be determined, Drown's home was built around 1806 as determined by Anselyn Lynch researching for the National Register of Historic Places - the house is on the Register). The first honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from Brown Medical School was conferred upon Solomon Drowne in 1804. In 1811, Drowne was appointed Professor of
Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
and Materia Medica in the medical department at Rhode Island College (now Brown University Medical School). He laid out the college's first botanical garden, became one of the original members of the Rhode Island Medical Society and one of the founders of the Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry. With his son William Drowne, he co-wrote ''The Farmer's Guide'', a thorough guide on husbandry and gardening, in 1824. Drowne's papers are now a part of Brown University's collection.


Quotes

The phrase "the whole Fraternity of Noise", describing the growing street noise in Philadelphia's downtown, is often misattributed to
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...
, but actually originates in a letter from Drowne to his brother William while Solomon was in Philadelphia in 1774.Gillingham, H. E., & Drowne, S. (1924). Dr. Solomon Drowne. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 48(3), 227–250.


References


External links


Solomon Drowne
on Encyclopedia Brunoniana.



from Drowne's journal on board the ''Hope''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Drowne, Solomon 1753 births 1834 deaths American military doctors People from Providence, Rhode Island Physicians in the American Revolution People of colonial Rhode Island People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution Brown University alumni Brown University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Geisel School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Rhode Island