Anniversary oration delivered before the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, September 26, 1866 / by J.M. Toner.
- Joseph Meredith Toner
- Date:
- 1869
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Anniversary oration delivered before the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, September 26, 1866 / by J.M. Toner. 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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![The frequent injury and injustice which had been perpetrated upon citizens of the District, by charlatans and pretended doctors, at length, in 1817, induced the regularly qualified physicians of Washington and George/mm to form themselves into a Society for the purpose of in- forming the public who were qualified to practice the healing art, and worthy of the confidence of the public, and, in the language of the charter, for the promoting and disseminating medical and surgical knowledge. Although, as stated, there had been meetings of the medical faculty of Washington and Georgetown prior to 1817, such meetings took place upon special calls and for specific purposes, of which no record was kept. The propriety of forming a Medical Society in Washington had long been canvassed, and the profession was found to be unanimous in its approval of the project. The call for a meeting of physicians for the formation of the Med- ical Society of the District of Colunibia,is to be found in the National Intelligencer of the 24th September, 1811, and is in the following lan- guage : The Physicians of Washington and Georgetown are requested to meet at Tennison's Hotel, on Friday, the 26th instant, (September, 1817) at 11 o'clock, fur the purpose of taking into consideration the organization of a Medical Society. The meeting was held at the time and place proposed, and was at- tended by sixteen physicians, nearly all that were then engaged in practice in the places named in the call. Their names are as follows: Drs. Charles Worthington, James II. Blake, Thomas Sim, Alexander McWilliams, Robert French, Samuel Hersley, James '/'. Johnson, ./. P. G. McMahon, Peregrine Wjirfield, Thomas Henderson, George Clark; Benjamin S. Bohrer, John Harrison, William Jones* Nich- olas W. Worthington, Henry Ha n il. * Dr. William Jones is believed to be the only physician now living who petitioned Congress for the Charter of this Society. [The Doctor died June 25 1867, aged 77.]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2115983x_0012.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
