A biographical memoir on the late John Revere, M.D / by Valentine Mott ... ; delivered at the request of the Medical Faculty of the University.

  • Mott, Valentine, 1785-1865.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A biographical memoir on the late John Revere, M.D / by Valentine Mott ... ; delivered at the request of the Medical Faculty of the University. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    On his return from Europe, Dr. Revere commenced the practice of his profession at his native city of Bos- ton, but soon found the austere winters of this resi- dence wholly incompatible with the tendency to bron- chitic inflammation which we have already alluded to, as an affection which appears with him to have been more or less constitutional. Though subsequent events, how- ever, proved that there could not have been any radi- cal tubercular disease in the respiratory apparatus, a considerable degree of expectoration of blood at this first severe attack, which took place in the year 1816, clearly admonished him to seek out in time for a milder and more propitious climate. He accordingly* immediately embarked for the south. But to show how far from being deep-seated this pul- monary affection was, we have only to remark, that he had to go no farther south than by a short excur- sion by sea to Richmond, in Virginia, when his trou- blesome cough and other symptoms almost immediately vanished.! So that after remaining a short time in Rich- mond he left for Baltimore, with a purpose of settling in that city. He began practice there, and having leisure, devoted some of it to the study of chemistry, and to ex- periments which might result in useful discoveries. Among these were attempts to prevent the rusting of iron in sea water, with a view to using this comparatively cheap metal on the bottom of ships as a substitute for copper. Dr. Revere, thinking he had arrived at his object, went to England in 1829, and there interested Sir William Adams, formerly a distinguished oculist, in his project. He remained abroad two or three years, during which time he had another golden opportunity to profit by the * Letter from his brother to V. Mott.