Samuel D. Gross correspondence

Collection

Identifier: MSS 2/135

Scope and Contents

The Samuel D. Gross papers consist of two collections, including records of the American Surgical Association correspondence, photographs, and newsclippings. For a more detailed description of the materials included, please the "Scope and Content" note for each item.

Dates

1851 - 1899

Creator

Gross, Samuel D. (Samuel David) (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Samuel David Gross was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, on 8 July 1805. He married Louisa Weissell in 1828; they had at least four children, including physician Samuel Weissell Gross (1837-1889). Gross died in Philadelphia on 6 May 1884.

Gross began to study medicine under a country practitioner. He then attended Jefferson Medical College and received his M.D. in 1828. He first practiced in Philadelphia, then removed to Easton.

In 1833, Gross became Demonstrator of Anatomy at the Medical College of Ohio. In 1835, he became Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the Cincinnati Medical College. He published Elements of pathological anatomy in 1839; it was the first English language text on the subject. From 1840 to 1856, Gross was Professor of Surgery at the University of Kentucky in Louisville. In 1856, he succeeded Thomas D. Mutter in the chair of surgery at Jefferson Medical College and held that position until 1882.

Samuel D. Gross was a founder of the Pathological Society of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery, and the American Surgical Association. He was president of the American Medical Association in 1867 and president of the International Medical Congress in 1876. He became an Associate Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1846 and a full Fellow in 1857.