Dr. David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Early Republic

H-USA Losing Hamilton, Saving New York: Dr. David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Early Republic

Discussion published by Emily Miranker on Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Date: October 9, 2018 Location: New York, United States

Tuesday, October 9, 2018 6:00PM-7:30PM

The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029

Cost: Free, **advanced registration required**

This lecture is co-presented with Weill Cornell's Heberden Society.

This illustrated lecture by historian Victoria Johnson features her acclaimed new book,American Eden (Liveright/W. W. Norton, 2018), whichThe Wall Street Journal calls “captivating.” When Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr met on a dueling ground in July 1804, they chose the same attending physician: David Hosack. Family doctor and friend to both Hamilton and Burr, Hosack is today a shadowy figure at the edge of a famous duel, the great achievements of his life forgotten. Hosack was the most famous American doctor of the post-Revolutionary generation and the most beloved medical professor in the United States. He introduced new surgeries, championed the controversial practice of corpse dissection, and founded the first public botanical garden in the new nation. Hosack used his pioneering garden to train the next generation of American doctors and naturalists and to conduct some of the first pharmaceutical research in the United States. Today, his former garden is home to Rockefeller Center.The New York Times writes of American Eden, “Hosack’s Columbia lectures were…‘as good as the theater,’ and so is Johnson’s storytelling.”

Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author following the lecture and Q&A with the audience.

About the Speaker

Victoria Johnson is an associate professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College, where she teaches on the history of New York City. Before joining Hunter, she taught for thirteen years at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 2015-2016, she was a Fellow of the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and in the summer of 2016 she was Mellon Visiting Scholar at the New York Botanical Garden. Johnson earned her PhD in sociology from Columbia University and her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Yale University.

Citation: Emily Miranker. Losing Hamilton, Saving New York: Dr. David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Early Republic. H-USA. 09-12-2018. https://networks.h-net.org/node/21708/discussions/2398041/losing-hamilton-saving-new-york-dr-david-hosack-botany-and Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-USA

Contact Info: [email protected]

Contact Email: [email protected] URL: https://nyam.org/events/event/american-eden/