Jacob
John Delamater, M.D.
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DELAMATER, JOHN (18 Apr.
1787-28 Mar. 1867), a teacher of medicine and founder of 3 medical
colleges, was born in Chatham, N.Y., son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Dorr)
Delamater. He studied medicine with his uncle from 1804-07, and was
licensed in 1807, practicing privately between 1807-22. Delamater began
teaching in 1823 at the newly established Berkshire Medical Institute at
Williams College, receiving an honorary M.D. there in 1824. Between
1823-43, Delamater held professorships at numerous colleges, including
Willoughby College in Akron, of which he was a founders in 1837. He also
conducted a private medical school in Palmyra, N.Y. several months each
year.
In 1840, Delamater moved to
Willoughby, Ohio, leaving for Cleveland in 1842 and founding, along with
Drs. Ackley, Cassels, and Kirtland, Cleveland Medical College, where he
was dean and professor for 17 years. Delamater was a member of many
professional organizations, and in 1819 helped organize the Berkshire
District Medical Society. Delamater was a deacon of the Congregational
church and an elder of the Presbyterian church. He was politically
outspoken, especially against slavery, and lectured on temperance. When
he retired in 1860, Western Reserve elected him their first professor
emeritus and awarded him an honorary LL.D. He continued in private
practice and filled temporary teaching vacancies nearly until his death.
Known for his charity and negligence in collecting fees, he retired in
near-poverty. His colleagues collected funds to furnish him with a home
in Cleveland. Married to Ruth Angell in 1811, Delamater had 8 children:
Mehitable, Elizabeth, Jacob, Gertrude, John, Mary, Eliza, and Martha.
Delamater died in East Cleveland.
The original faculty
of the Cleveland Medical College was constituted as follows:
John Delamater, M.D. (1787-1867) . Prof, of Midwifery and Diseases
of Women and Children.
Jared P. Kirtland, M.D. (1793-1877) . Prof, of the Theory and Practice
of Medicine.
Horace A. Ackley, M.D. (1815-1859) . Professor of Surgery.
John Lang Cassels, M.D. (1808-1879) . Professor of Materia Medica. Noah
Worcester, M. D., (1812-1847) . Prof, of Physical Diagnosis and
Diseases of the Skin.
Samuel St. John, M.D. (1813-1876) . Professor of Chemistry
Jacob J. Delamater, M. D Lecturer on Physiology.
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