Caspar Wistar Papers, American Philosophical Society

Table of contents

Abstract

Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), was a prominent American physician and man of learning, born in Philadelphia of Quaker stock. He received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1786, and held a number of responsible positions in the medical profession after his return to Philadelphia, most notably as chair of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He wrote the first American textbook on anatomy, espoused the use of vaccinations, and worked to combat the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. In addition to his medical interests, he had broad interests which encompasses the humanities and the sciences, particularly botany and paleontology. He was also particularly known for his hospitality, and his home was the weekly meeting place of students and scientists. He was active in various professional associations and served as president of the American Philosophical Society from 1815 until his death. This is primarily a collection of letters and manuscripts sent to Wistar by prominent men who were among his many correspondents. These documents reflect his broad interests, including botany, paleontology, medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and André Michaux's plans for exploring the Missouri.

Background note
Scope & content
Administrative information
Additional information
- Related material
- Bibliography
Added entries
Contact information
Collection inventory

Background note

Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), was a prominent American physician and man of learning. He was born in Philadelphia, the son of Richard Wistar (1727-1781) and Sarah Wyatt Wistar (1733-1771). He was named for his grandfather, Caspar Wistar (1696-1752), an early Pennsylvania glassmaker, who was born near Heidelberg, Germany. He was married twice, first in 1788 to Isabella Marshall, who died childless two years later. In 1798 he married Elizabeth Mifflin, with whom he had three children: Dr. Richard Mifflin Wistar, Dr. Mifflin Wistar, and Elizabeth Wistar. There were no grandchildren.

Born a Quaker, Wistar was said to have been inspired to become a physician by the suffering he witnessed in the aftermath of the Battle of Germantown in 1777. Wistar received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1786. Returning to Philadelphia, he succeeded Benjamin Rush in 1789 as professor of chemistry at the medical school of the College of Philadelpia (later the University of Pennsylvania). He held the position of professor of anatomy and midwifery there from 1792 to 1810. Wistar also served as a staff physician at area hospitals, including Pennsylvania Hospital, the country's oldest, and became chair of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1808. He wrote the first American textbook on anatomy, A System of Anatomy (2 vols., 1811, 1814). Wistar had many progressive ideas and was an early advocate of vaccinations against disease. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 he nearly lost his life after being stricken by the disease while caring tirelessly for others. Differences of opinion regarding treatment of this disease caused a breech in his friendship with Benjamin Rush.

In his role as teacher Wistar developed a number of unique teaching aids, some of which were life-sized anatomical models made of dried and wax-injected human limbs and organs. Others were fashioned of wood, carved by America's first professional sculptor, William Rush. Two years before his death, Wistar appointed Dr. William Edmonds Horner as caretaker of these valuable models. Horner later enlarged the collection and opened the first anatomical museum in the United States, the Wistar and Horner Museum. The collection eventually passed to the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, the first independent medical research facility established in the United States. The Institute, which was founded in 1892 by Wistar's great-nephew, Isaac J. Wistar, was named in honor of Wistar.

Wistar's reputation drew medical students to Philadelphia from around the world. However, he was widely respected not only for his medical knowledge, but also for his general breadth of knowledge, which included the humanities as well as the sciences. His chief scientific interests outside of medicine were paleontology and botany. He was also particularly known for his hospitality, and his home was the weekly meeting place of students and scientists. These so-called "Wistar parties" were so popular that they continued to be given even after his death. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1787 and served as its president from 1815 until his death. He was also elected a Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1788. The plant genus Wisteria, described by the botanist Thomas Nutall, was named in his honor.

Scope and content

The Wistar Papers consist primarily of letters sent to Caspar Wistar by prominent scientific colleagues. These reflect his broad interests, including botany, paleontology, medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and André Michaux's plans for exploring the Missouri. The correspondents include Samuel Brown, Adrien Gilles Camper, J. F. Corrêa da Serra, Georges L. C. F. D. Cuvier, John G. E. Heckewelder, Thomas Jefferson, François André Michaux, Samuel L. Mitchill, Ambroise M. F. J., Baron de Palisot de Beauvois, Alire Raffeneau-Delile, Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau, and David Bailie Warden. These materials were selected by Esther F. Wistar and presented to the APS in 1893 in honor of her late husband, Dr. Mifflin Wistar, Caspar Wistar's son. They are presented in a bound volume and have been microfilmed (Film #1254).

Administrative information

Restrictions

None.

Provenance

Presented by Mrs. Esther F. Wistar in memory of her husband, Dr. Mifflin Wistar, 1893.

Preferred citation

Cite as: Caspar Wistar Papers, American Philosophical Society.

Alternate formats

The collection is available on microfilm (Film 1254).

Additional information

Related material

Wistar, Caspar, Medical Commonplace book, 1796-1813. 1 vol. (Call no.: 616.928 W765)

Wistar, Caspar, Notes of Anatomical lectures, ca. 1781-1809. 3 vols. (Call no.: 610.4 W76)

Corrêa da Serra, José Francesco. Note necrologique sur le Docteur Wistar, 1818. 1 vol. (Call no.: B W76c)

Other manuscripts collections containing items by or relating to Caspar Wistar can be found at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the University of Pennsylvania Library, and the Library of Congress.

References

Rubincam, Milton, "The Wistar-Wister Family: A Pennsylvania Family's Contributions Toward American Cultural Development, Pennsylvania History, Vol.20, no.2, 1953.