Benjamin Rush, Physician, scientist, educator, and essayist, was born in Byberry Township near Philadelphia, the son of Susanna Hall Harvey and her second husband, John Rush, a gunsmith and farmer. Rush graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1760. From February 1761 to July 1766, he served in Philadelphia as an apprentice to Dr. John Shippen, a distinguished physician. In August of 1766 he left for Edinburgh University, where he received his M.D. in 1768. He continued his studies in London before returning to America in 1769, whereupon the trustees of the College of Philadelphia appointed him the first professor of chemistry. He later served as professor of medicine and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Perhaps the most influential physician in America, Rush devoted his life to teaching medicine, attending patients, and participating actively in the political and cultural life of the early republic.

To Rush, the...