Lewis Atterbury Stimson (August 24, 1844 – September 17, 1917 ) was an American surgeon who was the first to perform a public operation in the United States using

Joseph Lister Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (5 April 182710 February 1912) was a British surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative medicine. Joseph Lister revolutionised the craft of ...

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

technique.

Early life

Stimson was born on August 24, 1844 in Paterson, New Jersey. His parents were Henry Clark Stimson (1813–1894) and Julia Maria ( née Atterbury) Stimson (1819–1908). His siblings included Henry A. Stimson (1843–1936), Catherine Boudinot Stimson Weston (1846–1942), Mary Atterbury Stimson (1848–1928), John Ward Stimson (1850–1930), William Frank Stimson (1853–1872), Frederick Julian Stimson (1856–1926), and Julia Josephine Stimson (1861–1933), who was married to Dr. Henry Patterson Loomis. He was the uncle of

Alfred Lee Loomis Alfred Lee Loomis (November 4, 1887 – August 11, 1975) was an American attorney, investment banker, philanthropist, scientist, physicist, inventor of the LORAN Long Range Navigation System and a lifelong patron of scientific research. He estab ...

(1887–1975), the inventor of the

LORAN LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...

Long Range Navigation System. Stimson attended and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1863, followed by medical school at Bellevue Medical College.

Career

In 1866, after marrying, he entered the banking office of his father and in 1867, became a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

. He remained active in business until 1871.

Medical career

In 1878, Stimson performed the first public demonstration of an antiseptic surgery in the United States, using Baron Joseph Lister's

technique. In December 1883, Stimson operated on former president Ulysses S. Grant's leg. In 1898, Stimson wrote the charter of Cornell's new medical school, the Cornell University Medical College. He was instrumental in obtaining, along with

William Mecklenburg Polk William Mecklenburg Polk (15 August 1844 – 1918) was an American physician. Biography He was the son of Leonidas Polk, born at Ashwood, Maury Co., Tenn. He served in the Confederate army under his father during the Civil War, advancing f ...

(1844–1918), the medical school's first dean, a gift of $1.5 million from Col.

Oliver Hazard Payne Oliver Hazard Payne (July 21, 1839 – June 27, 1917) was an American businessman, organizer of the American Tobacco trust, and assisted with the formation of U.S. Steel, and was affiliated with Standard Oil. Early life Oliver Hazard Payne was ...

to open the new medical college. Stimson was also a professor of surgery at the Cornell Medical College. He made advances in techniques for abdominal surgery and is attributed with developing the

Stimson maneuver Stimson may refer to: * Charles Stimson (born 1963), American Pentagon official * Frederic Jesup Stimson (1855–1943), American diplomat * Gerry Stimson, British public health social scientist * Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950), American statesman ...

for reducing a

dislocated A joint dislocation, also called luxation, occurs when there is an abnormal separation in the joint, where two or more bones meet.Dislocations. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Retrieved 3 March 2013 A partial dislocation is refe ...

shoulder or hip, which he described in the article, "An Easy Method of Reducing Dislocations of the Shoulder and Hip", published in ''New York Medical Record'' in 1900. He was a member of the American Surgical Society, New York Medical Society, the County Medical Society, the Medical-Surgery Society. He was also a member of the Century Club,

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, and the Loyal Legion.

Yachting

In 1914, Stimson, a member of the

, docked his yacht, ''Fleur-De-Lis'', in Palermo,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In February 1905, he entered his yacht in the

Kaiser's Cup Kaiser's Cup was a yachting race across the Atlantic between Sandy Hook, New Jersey (USA) and The Lizard (Cornwall, England). This was a famous sailing race of the day, and was won by the yacht '' Atlantic'' which held the record for nearly a centu ...

. In June 1905, Stimson was a dinner guest aboard the yacht, '' Hohenzollern'', of Emperor Wilhelm II along with

Robert Goelet Robert Goelet Jr. (September 29, 1841 – April 27, 1899) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. Early life Robert Goelet was born on September 29, 1841 in Manhattan, New York City, to Sarah ...

Personal life

In 1866, Stimson was married to Candace Thurber Wheeler (1845–1876), the daughter of Thomas Mason Wheeler (1818-1895) and

Candace Thurber Wheeler Candace Wheeler (née Thurber; March 24, 1827 – August 5, 1923), often credited as the "mother" of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She is noted for helping to open the field of interior design to ...

(1827–1923). They had met in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784. His biographer wrote that "his devotion to her began with their first meeting, and lasted as long as his life. It was the mainspring of much of the tenderness and compassion that marked his relation to humanity." Lewis and Candace were the parents of: * Henry Lewis Stimson (1867–1950), Secretary of State in

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

's Administration as well as Secretary of War in the

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

Administration and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration. * Candace C. Stimson (1869–1944), who helped administer the anti-tetanus serum around Europe during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with her father. In a memorial written for Stimson after his death, Edward Lawrence Keyes (1843–1924) wrote about Stimson and his wife:

"Dr. Stimson impressed me as a man of very deep feeling which he kept under perfect restraint. He once drove me to Woodlawn Cemetery where he looked over his wife's grave. He spoke briefly but feelingly. I asked him how he ever survived such a loss. He replied, 'By years of constant, grinding work.'."

Stimson died on September 17, 1917 at Shinnecock Hills, New York.

References

External links

Guide to the Lewis Atterbury Stimson, MD Papers at Weill Cornell Medical College

Lewis Atterbury Stimson
by Edward Lawrence Keyes, 1918 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stimson, Lewis Atterbury 1917 deaths 1844 births American surgeons Yale University alumni Members of the New York Yacht Club People from Paterson, New Jersey