William Brown (1748 - January 11 1792) was a physician, and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, elected in 1780. Raised in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Brown returned to his place of birth, Scotland, to study medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, earning his M.D. in 1770. Returning to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, Brown quickly established himself by opening a medical practice and starting a family. His skill attracted the attention of

William Shippen, Jr William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

. who recruited him in 1775 to join the Second Virginia Regiment as a surgeon. He spent a few months at the Flying Camp field hospital before landing at the military hospital at Bethlehem. In 1777 Congress elected Brown Surgeon General. He spent a dismal winter with

General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

. His services were well used for the remainder of the war and, in recognition, he replaced

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, ...

as Physician General in 1788. Brown relocated to a new general hospital at

Lititz Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...

, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he made a number of changes to improve the facilities and capacities at the hospital, including sanitation improvements and assessing the supply of affordable medications for future wartimes. His list of medications became his ''Pharmacopeia Simpliciorum et Effecaciorum in usum Nocosomii Militaris'', and was the first of its kind printed in the United States. In 1779, he gave a series of lectures on anatomy for army surgeons in the region, as per the request of General George Washington. Brown resigned not long after that to resume his practice back in Virginia and died years later of unknown causes. He is buried at Pohick Episcopal Church in Lorton, Virginia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 18th-century American physicians Members of the American Philosophical Society 1748 births 1792 deaths Burials at Pohick Church Cemetery Physicians from Virginia Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies