Everything about Benjamin Smith Barton totally explained
Benjamin Smith Barton (
February 10,
1766 -
December 19,
1815) was an
American botanist and
physician.
Barton studied at the
York Academy in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania from 1780 to 1782, then attended the
College of Philadelphia, studying medicine under
Thomas Shippen from 1784, and accompanying
David Rittenhouse on an expedition to survey the western boundary of Pennsylvania in 1785, which aroused his interest in
Native Americans. In 1786 he transferred to the
University of Edinburgh, where he stayed for two years before leaving as a result of disagreements with two professors. He then moved to the
University of Göttingen, from which he obtained an
M.D. in
1789.
Upon graduation, Barton returned to the College of Philadelphia as an instructor, which would soon (in 1781) merge with the
University of Pennsylvania. In 1790 he was appointed professor of
botany and
natural history, and in 1795 chair of
materia medica. In 1813 he became chair of the theory and practice of medicine following the death of
Benjamin Rush, but continued to retain his position in natural history and botany. Concurrently with his academic position, he served as a physician at
Pennsylvania Hospital from 1798 through his death in 1815.
In 1803 Barton published
Elements of botany, or Outlines of the natural history of vegetables, the first American handbook of botany. From 1798-1804, he published a work on plants for medical use.
Barton was also interested in
anatomy and
zoology, and published
Memoir Concerning the Fascinating Faculty Which Has been Ascribed to the Rattle-Snake. In 1803 he published a comparative study of linguistics,
Etymology of Certain English Words and one Their Affinity to Words in the Languages of Different European, Asiatic and American (Indian) Nations and a test on the origin of the first American people,
New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America (1797). He was the editor of Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal (1805-1808), one of the oldest scientific publications of the United States.
Barton made one significant contribution to the field of
archaeology as well. Although his
Observations on Some Parts of Natural History in 1787 incorrectly attributed the prehistoric
mounds of
Ohio to the
Danish people, his 1797 book (mentioned above) correctly identifies the
Mound builders as Native Americans. While he wasn't the first to make this claim, he may have been the first to suggest a significant age to the mounds, speculating that they may have been older than
James Ussher's famous Biblical chronology. Barton also correctly guessed that Native Americans had an Asian origin.
In
botany, his
author abbreviation is
Barton.
He was vice president of the
American Philosophical Society from 1802 to his death, and president of the
Philadelphia Medical Society from 1808 to his death. He died of
tuberculosis in
New York City.
His older brother,
William Barton, was also a member of the American Philosophical Society. His maternal uncle,
David Rittenhouse, served as the Society's second president after the death of founder
Benjamin Franklin in
1790.
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