Samuel Bard (60)

Elected to the American Society.

Samuel Bard (1 April 1742–24 May 1821) was a physician and naturalist and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1767. Born in Philadelphia, he studied medicine under his father John Bard and briefly attended King’s College in New York before sailing to Scotland to attend Edinburgh University. Upon graduating in 1765, he followed the example of Edinburgh graduates (and fellow APS members) William Shippen, Jr. and John Morgan in seeking to formalize and promote medical education. In 1767 Bard joined several other young doctors in inaugurating a medical course at King’s College. During the American Revolution, he almost lost his medical practice because of his Loyalist sympathies. But influential patrons intervened on his behalf, and in 1789 he and his father successfully operated on George Washington while the President was in New York. After the war, Bard resumed his efforts to improve medical instruction. He was a founder of the New York Dispensary, served on the staff of the New York Hospital, and helped to reorganize King’s College as Columbia University, holding numerous faculty and administrative positions. When Columbia was united with rival medical schools, the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Medical Faculty of Queens College, he was elected president of the unified institution. Deeply interested in culture and history, Bard was also a member of the New York Society Library and the New York Historical Society. In retirement, he took renewed pleasure in botany and agriculture, publishing a Guide for Young Shepards as well as a popular guide to midwifery. (PI, DAB)