THE MEDICAL EXAMINER.
PHILADELPHIA, APRIL, 1853.
DEATH OF PROFESSOR HORNER.
Dr. William E. Horner, Professor of Anatomy in the University
of Pennsylvania, died at his residence in this city on the 13th of March
last, in the 60th year of his age. His death, though somewhat sudden,
was anticipated by his friends and family for some weeks; and, indeed,
for many years, we believe, it had been apparent that organic disease
was making slow but sure inroads on his naturally vigorous constitution.
No death, in the profession of this country, could have excited a more
general sensation than that of Dr. Horner. Connected for thirty-three
years with the University of Pennsylvania, as the adjunct and successor
of Physick, he stood in the foremost rank among our teachers of national
reputation ; while he was no less widely known as the author of a Treatise
on Special Anatomy and Histology, as a constant contributor to our
periodical medical literature, and as a skilful, original, and successful
surgeon.
Dr. Horner was born on the 31st of June, 1793, at Warrenton, in
Fauquier county, Virginia, where he received his early education. He
afterwards spent some time in an Academy, at Dumfries, in Prince
William County, in the same State, where he remained till his seven-
teenth year.
In 1810, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. John Spence,
of Dumfries, a Scotch physician and graduate of Edinburgh, who enjoyed
considerable reputation as a practitioner.
In the autumn of 1812, he attended his first course of lectures in the
University of Pennsylvania, and soon evinced his predilection for the
study of anatomy, being occasionally employed in assisting the Demon-
strator of Anatomy in the preparation of Prof. Wistar’s lecture.
On the 3d of July, 1813, he obtained a commission as Surgeon’s
Mate in the Army of the United States; and was appointed to the regi-
ment stationed at Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia.
In the Spring of 1814, he graduated at the University, having pre-
sented an Inaugural Essay on Gunshot Wounds. He was ordered, in
the Summer of this year, to the Niagara frontier, and was actively em-
ployed at Buffalo, Niagara, and Fort Erie. Our readers are familiar
with his spirited and instructive reminiscences of this campaign, pub-
lished in late numbers of the Examiner.
After the peace, in 1815, he was stationed at Norfolk, but he soon
after resigned his commission, and returned to his native town, Warren-
ton, Virginia, where he entered upon the practice of his profession.
It was not long, however, before he decided to seek a wider sphere, and,
in November of the same year, he settled permanently in Philadelphia.
Dr. Ilorner’s advancement here was almost without a precedent in ra-
pidity. A stranger, without interest or influence, within two years
from his establishment in Philadelphia, he entered the University as
Demonstrator of Anatomy, under the most distinguished of American
teachers ; and three years afterwards, (in 1820,) he was appointed adjunct
Professor of the same branch. In 1831, on the resignation of Dr.
Physick, he was elected Professor of Anatomy in the University, and
discharged the duties of this chair till within a short period of his
death. From the date of his appointment to the adjunct Professorship,
he devoted himself to the formation of an anatomical cabinet, which
has gradually become one of the most splendid and complete in the
world.
As a lecturer on anatomy, Dr. Horner was distinguished for clear-
ness, perspicuity, and simplicity of style, a thorough familiarity with
his subject, which secured entirely the confidence and attention of his
hearers, and a manly, unaffected delivery. As a teacher he had no
superior, (as we can bear grateful testimony.) To oratorical talent he
made no pretensions, and had no claims.
Though up to a short periodof his death, Dr. Horner continued in the
steady discharge of his professional and other duties, he had for years suf-
fered from dyspnoea, palpitation, and other symptoms, which left little
doubt that he labored under cardiac disorder; and the emaciation of his
frame made it evident that it was producing serious derangement of the
functions of nutrition. For some weeks preceding his death, dropsical ef-
fusion had appeared. And, though within a day or two of his death, he
was able to participate in the examination of students for degrees, yet we
believe that neither himself nor his family entertained any hope that his
life could be long protracted. The immediate termination, was, how-
ever, somewhat unexpected.
The post-mortem examination confirmed the diagnosis of disease of the
heart. It was found very considerably hypertrophied and enlarged,
being five and a half inches from the apex to the origin of the pulmo-
nary artery, five ani three-quarter inches in diameter, and thirteen and
a half inches in circumference at its base. The tricuspid and mitral
valves were healthy. The arch of the aorta was dilated and thickly os-
sified. There was also recent peritonitis, with streaks of fresh coagula-
ble lymph over the peritoneal surface of the intestines. Perforation of
the stomach or bowels had been suspected, as the cause of the perito-
nitis, but no traces of this lesion were found.
Dr. Horner’s death, at this comparatively early age, is a loss which
the profession of our country feel severely. As an anatomist and sur-
geon, the worthy successor of an illustrious predecessor, his place must
long be vacant. But if not full of years, he went full of honors, leav-
ing an unstained reputation in every personal and professional relation.
It is gratifying too, to know, that his labors were not without that rare
professional recompense—an ample fortune, which he owed exclusively
to his own exertions. No man could have closed life under more con-
solations; and that greatest and best of consolations, a firm Christian
hope, had been long and well secured.
St. Joseph’s Hospital, March 17th, 1853.
At a Special Meeting of the Medical Board of St. Joseph’s Hospital,
held this day, for the purpose of taking action in regard to the death of
their late President, William E. Horner, M. D., who departed this
life on the 11th inst, it was unanimously
Resolved, That in Dr. Horner this Board have to lament one of the
founders of the Hospital, a zealous and efficient advocate of its interests,
and one of its most liberal benefactors, who spared neither his means,
his labor, nor his skill, in furthering its welfare and in healing the
diseases of its inmates; that in him they also mourn a colleague and a friend,
who in all his intercourse was urbane and considerate, and ever prompt to
sustain them by his influence and assist them by his counsel; one with
whom it was a pleasure to associate and from whose exemplary candor
they could always look for a just appreciation of their own acts.
Resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be furnished for publication
in the Medical Examiner and the American Journal of the Medical
Sciences.	Alfred Stille, Chairman.
J. Henry Smaltz, Secretary.
THE LATE DR. DANIEL DRAKE.
From a very interesting and eloquent Discourse on the Life, Charac-
ter, and Services of Dr. Daniel Drake, by Prof. Gross, published in
the February number of the Western Journal of Medicine, and Surgery,
we take the following particulars.
Dr. Drake was born at Plainfield, Essex County, New Jersey, on the
20th October, 1785. Two years and a half afterwards, his father emi-
grated to Kentucky, and settled at Mays Lick, twelve miles south-west
of Maysville. The educational advantages of young Drake, during his
boyhood, were very limited. In the autumn of 1800, at the close of
his fifteenth year, he was sent to Cincinnati, and entered the office of
Dr. Goforth, of that city, as a private pupil. He remained with this
gentleman for four years, when he received from him an autograph di-
ploma, under the sanction of which he practiced medicine for the next
eleven years, “ when it was corroborated by another from the University
of Pennsylvania.” Tn the autumn of 1805, he attended a course of
lectures at the latter Institution, under Rush, Wistar, Barton, Physick,
and Woodhouse. On his return, he practised medicine a year in Mason
County, Kentucky, but soon afterwards went to Cincinnati. In 1807,
he married; and after some years of professional occupation in Cincin-
nati, he, in 1815, attended a second course of lectures at the University
of Pennsylvania, and graduated at the end of the session.
Dr. Drake’s long and varied career, as a teacher of medicine, now
commenced. A year after receiving his degree, he was appointed Pro-
fessor of Materia Medica in the Medical Department of Transylvania
University at Lexington. In 1819, he founded the Medical College of
Ohio, at Cincinnati, he himself taking the Chair of Medicine. Misun-
derstandings with colleagues, however, resulted in Dr. Drake’s retire-
ment from this School; and in 1823, he resumed his old chair at Tran-
sylvania, passing two years later to the Chair of Medicine.
In 1827, Dr. Drake returned to Cincinnati and private practice. But,
in 1830, be was called to the Professorship of Medicine in the Jefferson
Medical College of Philadephia, where, according to Dr. Gross, he
soon became the most popular Professor in the Institution, which then
numbered both George McClellan and Eberle in its faculty. ‘‘Had Dr.
Drake remained in the Jefferson School, no one can doubt,” Dr. Gross
observes, “ that the brilliant success which has since awaited it would
have been attained years before.” But the restless energy of Dr. Drake’s
character impelled him to new schemes, and he returned to the West;
and, after two unsuccessful attempts at medical organizations, in 1835,
we find him at the head of a new and able Institution, with brilliant
prospects—the Cincinnati Medical College. Dr. Drake, it appears, had
greatly at heart the success of this enterprise. But after a brave
struggle of four years, with classes of encouraging numbers, this organi-
zation was obliged to “ succumb to the want of endowment.”
Shortly after, he received an invitation to a chair, created with espe-
cial reference to him, in the University of Louisville, viz. : that of
Clinical Medicine and Pathological Anatomy. He filled this chair till
1844, when he was transferred to that of Medicine. In 1849, he with-
drew from Louisville, and returned to Cincinnati to fill the chair of
Medicine in the Medical College of Ohio. But “ troubles either real or
imaginary ” brought Dr. Drake’s career to a close here, after a single
session. In 1850 we find him again at Louisville, and, in 1852, he
finally left it, “ once more to re-enter the Medical College of Ohio, now
re-organized with an abler Faculty, and under brighter auspices.” But
the chequered career was now to be closed; and, “just at the opening of
the session, full of hope and expectation about the classes and pros-
pects of the Institution, the hand of death was laid upon him.”
Dr. Drake was distinguished as a philanthropist, and was instru-
mental in founding many of the valuable benevolent institutions of the
West. He was also foremost in promoting schemes of public improve-
ment, and took a decided and active part in several of the great political
questions of the day. He was emphatically, one of the public men of
the West; a marked and influential citizen.
As a writer, he was voluminous, original, and industrious. He was
frequently connected editorially with the medical journals of the West, and
a steady contributor to them during his 'whole medical career. “But the
most splendid exhibition of his genius is his work on the Diseases of the
Interior Valley of North America, an enduring monument of his indus-
try, his research, and his ability.” As early as 1822, he issued a cir-
cular, requesting the co-operation of his professional brethren of the
South-west, in furnishing material for this work.
“ In 1837, fifteen years after the publication of his circular, he found,
for the first time, sufficient leisure to enter vigorously upon the collection
of materials for his long contemplated work In the summer of this
year, accompanied by his two daughters, he visited a portion of the South
for that purpose, during a tour of about three months. In 1843, he
made a second tour, embracing Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Ala-
bama, and the G-ulf of Mexico; and subsequently he explored the inte-
rior of Kentucky, Tennessee, the two Carolinas, Virginia, Western Penn-
sylvania, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mis-
souri, the great Lakes and Canada. Wherever- he went his fame pre-
ceded him, and he was kindly received by his professional brethren, many
of whom vied with each other to show him attention and hospitality. It
was during his absence upon these missions, which he performed with
the zeal of an apostle of science, that he wrote those numerous and inte-
resting travelling editorials, as he styled them, for the Western Journal
of Medicine and Surgery. These epistles, which form so conspicuous a
feature of that periodical during the time referred to, were usually de-
scriptive of the manners, habits, and diseases of the people among whom
he wandered, of the climate, scenery, and productions of the country, and,
in short, of whatever seemed, at the moment, to strike his fancy, or in-
terest bis mind.
“ The materials thus collected were gradually digested and arranged,
and finally presented to the profession, in the summer of 1850, under
the elaborate title of “ A Systematic Treatise, Historical, Etiological,
and Practical, on the Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North
America, as they appear in the Caucasian, African, Indian, and Esqui-
maux Varieties of its Population.” The work, the first volume of which
only has yet appeared, is illustrated by numerous charts and maps, de-
signed and engraved at great expense, and was printed and published at
Cincinnati under the author’s immediate supervision. A second volume,
the composition of which was nearly completed at the time of his decease,
will be issued during the ensuing summer, under the care of a competent
editor, and will be entirely devoted to subjects on practical medicine.
The two together will constitute a monument of the genius and industry
of their author, as durable as the mountains and the valleys, whose medi-
cal history they are designed to portray and illustrate. The toil and
labor expended upon their production afford a happy exemplification of
what may be accomplished by the well directed and persistent efforts of
a single individual, uuaided by wealth, and unsupported by the patronage
of his own profession.
“ It was originally the intention of Dr. Drake to comprise his work
in two volumes; but as he progressed with the elaboration of bis ma-
terials, he found that he should have a sufficiency for another; which
now, that he is dead, will, of course, never be completed. The treasure
remains, but the key wherewith to unlock it is gone-.
“ Every where at home the work received the most favorable commen-
dation. All concurred in pronouncing it a performance of stupendous
labor, and not a few of the leading journals declared that it was the most
original production that our country had yet furnished. One of the
most beautiful and appreciative notices of it appeared, soon after its pub-
lication, in the Daily Louisville Journal, from the pen of my colleague,
Professor Yandcll. Dr. Stille, Chairman of the committee on Medi-
cal Literature, alluded to it in terms of high commendation in his report
to the American Medical Association, at their meeting at Cincinnati, in
May, 1850. Abroad, its appearance was hailed with similar feelings.
The British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review, one of the ablest
and most discriminating periodicals of the day, published a long and
highly flattering notice of it.”,
Dr. Gross pays the following beautiful tribute to the private virtues
of his distinguished associate—admitting at the same time, however,
that his ardent and positive temperament had made him enemies as well
as warm, staunch, and admiring friends.
“ IIis conduct, in all the relations of life, was most exemplary. In his
friendships, usually formed with much caution, he was devoted, firm,
and reliable, as many who survive him can testify. His attachments
were strong and enduring. Few men, as he himself declared to me only
a few months before his death, possessed so many ardent and faithful
friends. His social qualities were remarkable. He loved his friends,
enjoyed their society, and took great pleasure in joining them at the
domestic board; where, forgetting the author and the teacher, he laid
aside his ‘ sterner nature/ and appeared in his true character, plain and
simple as a child, cheerful, amiable, and entertaining. It was during
such moments, which served to relax the cords of his mind, and fit it for
the renewal of its labors, that he shoue to most advantage. His conver-
sational powers on such occasions, as well as in the drawing-room, al-
though superior, were not equal. Like all great and busy men, he had
his cares and annoyance, his hours of depression and despondency, his
fits of absence and restlessness.”