History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

CHAPTER XXPHYSIOLOGYBy CARLOS I. REED, A.B., A.M., PhD.*THEhistory of physiology in Illinois before 1900 is neither dramaticnor impressive. One reason for this is that the state had never sheltereda William Beaumont, as had the three adjoining states. There were Professorsof Physiology in the early proprietary schools, but most of themwere only secondarily interested in the subject. Many gave primary attentionto courses in anatomy, inserting only a few lectures on function.The first of these professors was George W. Richards f (1800-53), whowas graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Fairfield,New York, in 1828. He practiced medicine in central New York until 1841,when he moved to St. Charles, Illinois, which then was a more promisingmetropolis even than Chicago. Like many frontier physicians of that period,Richards was fired with an ambition to be the central figure in a medicalschool and, since there were no medical schools nearby, perforce one mustbe established and he was the man for the job. Richards' personality andreputation greatly facilitated these objectives.This first school was the Franklin Medical College of Illinois. (It doesnot appear that a charter was ever issued to it in Illinois.) Richards wasProfessor of Anatomy and Physiology during the seven years of theof the school. There are no records extant of any of its graduates, and itevidently functioned merely as a center of practical training, chiefly inanatomy and related subjects. The school was closed because of an armedmob bent on the recovery of a body recently removed from a new grave inSycamore, Illinois. Whether the body was actually brought to the schoolwas never determined. In the course of the riot, a rifle shot was fired throughthe locked door of Richards' home, fatally wounding a student andseriously wounding Dr. Richards. This unfortunate incident terminatedthe first known attempt to institute formal medical education, includingphysiology, in the State of Illinois.After the termination of this venture, Richards immediately became in-life* Dr. Reed has been Professor of Physiology at the University of Illinois College ofMedicine for many years. At present he is writing a history of physiology of the UnitedStates. His field has been mainly the application of physics to biologic problems.—Editor•j-For a more detailed biography of Dr. Richards, written from a different approach,the reader is referred to Volume I of this series, p. 543.—Editor403