Person:Benjamin Rush (8)

m. Bef 1739
  1. James Rush1739 -
  2. Rachel Rush1741 - 1798
  3. Rebecca Rush1743 - 1793
  4. Dr. Benjamin Rush1745 - 1813
  5. Hon. Jacob Rush1747 - 1820
  6. Stevenson RushAbt 1748 -
  7. John RushAbt 1750 -
m. 11 Jan 1776
  1. John Rush1777 - 1837
  2. Ann Emily Rush1779 - 1850
  3. Richard Rush, Esq.1780 - 1859
  4. Susanna Rush1782 -
  5. Elizabeth Rush1783 -
  6. Mary Rush1784 - 1849
  7. James Rush1786 - 1869
  8. William Rush1787 -
  9. Benjamin Rush1789 -
  10. Benjamin Rush1791 - 1824
  11. Julia Rush1792 - 1860
  12. Samuel Rush1795 - 1864
  13. William Rush1801 - 1864
Facts and Events
Name[1] Dr. Benjamin Rush
Gender Male
Birth[1][2] 24 Dec 1745 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Marriage 11 Jan 1776 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United Statesto Julia Stockton
Death[1] 19 Apr 1813 Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Reference Number? Q656478?

About Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush (January 4, 1746 [O.S. December 24, 1745] – April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Rush signed the Declaration of Independence and attended the Continental Congress. He served as Surgeon General in the Continental army, and was blamed for criticising George Washington.[1] Later in life, Rush became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania.[2]

Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment, and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. He signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a leader in Pennsylvania's ratification of the Constitution in 1788. He was prominent in many reforms, especially in the areas of medicine and education. He opposed slavery, advocated free public schools, and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system. As a leading physician, Rush had a major impact on the emerging medical profession. As an Enlightenment intellectual, he was committed to organizing all medical knowledge around explanatory theories, rather than rely on empirical methods. Rush argued that illness was the result of imbalances in the body's physical system and was caused by malfunctions in the brain. His approach prepared the way for later medical research, but Rush himself undertook none of it. He promoted public health by advocating clean environment and stressing the importance of personal and military hygiene. His study of mental disorder made him one of the founders of American psychiatry.

Early Life and Career

Rush was born to John Harvey Rush [citation needed] and Susanna Hall on January 4, 1746 (December 24, 1745 O.S.). The family which included seven children lived on a plantation in the Township of Byberry in Philadelphia County, then about 14 mi outside Philadelphia (the township was incorporated into Philadelphia in 1854 and now remains one of its neighborhoods). Rush's father died when he was five,[4] leaving his mother to care for the large family. At eight years of age, Benjamin was sent to live with an aunt and uncle, to receive a proper education.[5] Benjamin and his older brother Jacob (b. 1738)[6] attended a school in Cecil County, Maryland, run by the Rev. Samuel Finley, which would later become West Nottingham Academy.

In 1760, after further studies at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Rush graduated with a bachelor of arts degree. From 1761 to 1766, Rush apprenticed under Dr. John Redman in Philadelphia. Redman encouraged him to further his studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where Rush studied from 1766 to 1768 and earned a medical degree. Rush became fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish as a result of his studies and European tour. Returning to the Colonies in 1769 (age 24), Rush opened a medical practice in Philadelphia and became Professor of Chemistry at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).[7] Rush ultimately published the first American textbook on chemistry, several volumes on medical student education, and wrote influential patriotic essays.

Family

Benjamin Rush was a remote relative of William Penn (1644–1718) who established Pennsylvania. Before the Revolutionary war, Rush was engaged to Sarah Eve, daughter of prominent Philadelphian, Captain Oswell Eve, Sr. She died before their scheduled wedding.

On January 11, 1776, Rush married Julia Stockton (1759–1848), daughter of Richard Stockton, another signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife Annis Boudinot Stockton. They had 13 children, 9 of whom survived their first year: John, Ann Emily, Richard, Susannah (died as an infant), Elizabeth Graeme (died as an infant), Mary B, James, William (died as an infant), Benjamin (died as an infant), Benjamin, Julia, Samuel, William.

Rush's eldest son John fell into depression as a result of experiences during his tour of duty in the United States Navy. When he returned home unable to care for himself, Rush placed him in the mental ward at the Pennsylvania Hospital, where he died 30 years later without having recovered.[65]

Rush in 1812, helped reconcile the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams by encouraging the two former presidents to resume writing to each other.


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educator, and the founder of Dickinson College. Rush was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress.[1] His later self-description there was: "He aimed right." He served as surgeon general of the Continental Army and became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rush was a leader of the American Enlightenment and an enthusiastic supporter of the American Revolution. He was a leader in Pennsylvania's ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. He was prominent in many reforms, especially in the areas of medicine and education. He opposed slavery, advocated free public schools, and sought improved education for women and a more enlightened penal system. As a leading physician, Rush had a major impact on the emerging medical profession. As an Enlightenment intellectual, he was committed to organizing all medical knowledge around explanatory theories, rather than rely on empirical methods. Rush argued that illness was the result of imbalances in the body's physical system and was caused by malfunctions in the brain. His approach prepared the way for later medical research, but Rush undertook none of it. He promoted public health by advocating clean environment and stressing the importance of personal and military hygiene. His study of mental disorder made him one of the founders of American psychiatry. In 1965, the American Psychiatric Association recognized Rush as the "father of American psychiatry".

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Benjamin Rush. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
Signers of U.S. Declaration of Independence
John AdamsSamuel AdamsJosiah BartlettCarter BraxtonCharles CarrollSamuel ChaseAbraham ClarkGeorge ClymerWilliam ElleryWilliam FloydBen FranklinElbridge GerryButton GwinnettLyman HallJohn HancockBenjamin HarrisonJohn HartJoseph HewesThomas HeywardWilliam HooperStephen HopkinsFrancis HopkinsonSamuel HuntingtonThomas JeffersonFrancis Lightfoot LeeRichard Henry LeeFrancis LewisPhilip LivingstonThomas LynchThomas McKeanArthur MiddletonLewis MorrisRobert MorrisJohn MortonThomas Nelson, Jr.William PacaRobert Treat PaineJohn PennGeorge ReadCaesar RodneyGeorge RossBenjamin RushEdward RutledgeRoger ShermanJames SmithRichard StocktonThomas StoneGeorge TaylorMatthew ThorntonGeorge WaltonWilliam WhippleWilliam WilliamsJames WilsonJohn WitherspoonOliver WolcottGeorge Wythe

References
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Family Recorded, in McCabe, James D. (James Dabney). Great fortunes. (New York, New York: [s.n.], 1870).
  2. Family Recorded, in Mackenzie, George Norbury, and Nelson Osgood Rhoades. Colonial families of the United States of America: in which is given the history, genealogy and armorial bearings of colonial families who settled in the American colonies from the time of the settlement of Jamestown, 13th May, 1607, to the battle of Lexington, 19th April, 1775. (New York, Boston: The Grafton Press, 1907)
    6:407.