Silas Weir Mitchell (medic)

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Silas Weir Mitchell (born February 15, 1829 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † January 4, 1914 there ) was an American doctor, neurologist and writer.

Live and act

Mitchell was the son of the doctor John Kearsley Mitchell (1798-1858) and his wife Sarah. At the request of the father, Mitchell studied at the University of Pennsylvania , then he moved to the Jefferson Medical College , where he received his doctorate in medicine in 1850.

In 1858, Mitchell married Mary Middleton Elwyn in his hometown. He had two sons with her: John Kearsley (1859-1917) and Alfred Langdon (1862-1935). The wife died in 1862. In 1875 he married Mary Cadwalader for the second time and had a daughter with her: Mary Gouverneur (1876–1898). With this second marriage he came into the family of federal judge John Cadwalader and thus belonged to the " Haute-Volée " of Philadelphia.

During the Civil War (1861-1865) Mitchell worked as a doctor at Turners Lane Hospital in his hometown. During this time he established his work and research focus in neurology . He researched u. a. in the field of neurasthenia and hysteria and soon became - after an ondit - “better known than Dr. Diet and Dr. Quiet ". In 1865 he was elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences . In 1908 he was admitted to the Royal Society as a foreign member .

He made his debut as a writer in 1863 with his short story The case of George Dedlow , which he was able to publish in The Atlantic Monthly . As Charlotte Perkins Gilman's general practitioner , he indirectly played a role in her story, The yellow wall-paper .

Silas Weir Mitchell died six weeks before his 85th birthday on January 4, 1914 at his Philadelphia home. He found his final resting place in Woodland Cemetery (Section E).

Honors

Fonts (selection)

As a doctor

  • Fat and Blood . New York 1909.
  • Injuries of Nerves and their consequences . Philadelphia 1872.
  • The autobiography of a quack and the case of George Dedlow (Muckrackers; Vol. 31). London 1900.

As a writer

  • A Madeira Party . New York 1895.
  • A little more burgundy . New York 1895.
  • Far in the forest . New York 1909.
  • The Youth of Washington . New York 1904.

literature

  • Anna R. Burr (Ed.): Weir Mitchell. His Life and letters . New York 1902.
  • Joseph P. Lovering (Ed.): Silas Weir Mitchell (Twayne's United States Authors Series; Vol. 183). Twayne, New York 1971.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quoting from Jonathan Swift's Polite Conversations in three dialogues , see Second Dialog : "... the best Doctors in the world are Doctor Diet and Doctor Quiet and Doctor Merryman ...".
  2. ^ Entry on Mitchell, Silas Weir (1829–1914) in the Archives of the Royal Society , London
  3. ^ William A. Dorland (abbreviation): Dorland's Medical Dictionary . 31st edition Elzevier Saunders, Edinburgh 2007, ISBN 978-1-4160-2364-7 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Mitchell, Silas Weir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American doctor and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States
DATE OF DEATH January 4, 1914
Place of death Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States