Robley Dunglison,
M.D.
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View a lecture card and book in this collection for Dr.
Dunglison
Robley Dunglison, M.D. (1798-1869)
lectured on "Materia Medica Therapeutics, Hygiene & Medical
Jurisprudence."
Founder of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, he published
the first American textbook on Hygiene & Preventive medicine -- and many
other celebrated books. on the subject. Dunglison was also physician to
four presidents — Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Jackson. To this day,
the School of Medicine commemorates his contributions each year at
commencement by conferring upon a graduating student the Robley
Dunglison Award for Excellence in Preventive Medicine.
Robley Dunglison was born in England in 1798. As was true for many of his peers,
his educational background included study at the University of Edinburgh. In a
more unique circumstance, however, he received his M.D. from the University of
Erlangen in Germany. His American career originated at the University of
Virginia, where he was one of seven men invited to comprise the founding faculty
of its medical school. At its opening session in 1825, Dunglison held the
position of Professor of Anatomy and Medicine. From then until 1833, his
curricula expanded to encompass such subjects as Physiology, Materia Medica,
Pharmacy & Histology, Medical Jurisprudence, and the History of Medicine. I
In
1833, Dunglison departed Virginia to become Professor of Materia Medica,
Hygiene, and Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Maryland. In addition,
he served as the Dean of the medical school from 1834-35.
He later moved on to
the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he remained for the rest of
his career. An extremely prolific writer, Dunglison wrote extensively on
countless topics ranging from the practice of medicine, to more esoteric themes
such as road building, Greek and Roman geography, and German poetry. But his
medical dictionary is perhaps his most enduring piece, enjoying a long and
celebrated history of more than 20 editions.
