Gideon Allen Weed (March 7, 1833 – April 22, 1905) born in New Jersey, Weed was a two-time mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1876 to 1878, first elected in 1875, and serving as an independent.

Biography

Weed took part in the anti-Northern Pacific agitation and was an officer in the Home Guards during the anti-Chinese riots in Seattle. For ten years Dr. Weed served as a regent of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. Weed founded the King County Medical Society in 1888 and helped to organize the Medical Society of Washington and the State Medical Board. Gideon carried through pioneer medical legislation that was much needed in the new state of Washington. Born in

New Providence, New Jersey New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, Weed received his medical training at

Rush Medical College Rush Medical College is the medical school of Rush University, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1837, it is affiliated with Rush University Medical Center, and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. ...

, from which he graduated in 1856.Stedman, Thomas L., ed
"News of the Week: Obituary Notes"
p. 783, ''

Medical Record (journal) ''The Medical Record: A Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery'' was an American medical journal founded in 1866 by George Frederick Shrady, Sr., who was its first editor-in-chief. Thomas Lathrop Stedman became assistant editor in 1890 and edi ...

'', May 20, 1905. William Wood & Company, 1905. Accessed September 10, 2015. "Dr. GIDEON A. WEED, a pioneer physician of the Pacific Coast, and a man who, as twice Mayor of Seattle, and a prominent citizen of Washington State, did much toward the upbuilding of the Northwest, died at his home in Berkeley, Cal., on April 21. He was born in New Providence, N. J., in 1833 and was graduated from the

Chicago, in 1856." Dr. Weed practiced medicine in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington State. Weed, a medical doctor by profession is credited with greatly reducing the impact of a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic in 1877, acting as the city's health officer and even paying for treatment of patients from his own pocket. Weed and his wife, Adaline Weed, also a medical doctor, had settled in Seattle in 1870 after previously practicing

hydropathy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and treatment. The ter ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, one of the first few to practice it in the United States. Weed suffered a paralytic stroke which forced him into inactivity for the last 10 years of his life. Before his stroke he was one of the most prominent figures in the medical profession in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. He was married to Adaline M. Weed, who was born in Illinois and moved to the west coast after her marriage to Gideon in New York in 1857. Adaline and Gideon met as students at New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College where they both became doctors. "A Wedding on Hydropathic Principles" took place between Gideon Allen Weed and Adaline M. Willis. Classmates at Trall's Hygeio-Therapeutic College described that they "have now united in hands, hearts, fortunes and diplomas." The ceremony took place in the lecture room before the professors and students. Adaline and Gideon traveled to the west coast of the US via the

isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

. They lived in Nevada, Oregon, and California until 1870, when they moved to Seattle. The Weeds were survived by a daughter, Mabel Weed, who was connected with the Carnegie Library of

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

, and Ben Weed, who discovered the natural amphitheater back of Berkley University, which for years was called "Ben Weed's Theater" and is now the Greek theater. Gideon Weed died in 1905 at his home in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

Biography

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Further reading