bronze plaque · Edinburgh

Rev John Witherspoon

This plaque commemorates the historical links between the Edinburgh Medical School and North America. During the years 1749 to 1799, 117 Americans received medical degrees in Edinburgh. They included John Morgan (1735-1789) founder of the Medical School of the college of Philadelphia and those doctors who joined him on the first Faculty William Shippen (1736-1808) Adam Kuhn (1741-1817) Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) Caspar Wistar (1761-1818). The Medical School of the college of Philadelphia was the first in North America. In Addition, Benjamin Rush and Dr John Witherspoon (1723-1794), Theologian from Edinburgh, were signatories of the American Declaration of Independence.

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