William Shippen Sr. (October 1, 1712November 4, 1801) was an American physician from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He was also a civic and educational leader who represented

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

Biography

William was born to Joseph Shippen (1679–1741, son of

Edward Shippen Edward Shippen (1639, Methley, West Yorkshire, England – October 2, 1712, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was the second mayor of Philadelphia, although under William Penn's charter of 1701, he was considered the first. Early life Edward was bor ...

, governor of Pennsylvania) and Abigail Grosse Shippen (1677–1716) at Philadelphia. His father was a prominent merchant. He built a large practice in Philadelphia. In 1735 he married Susannah Harrison. Shippen joined the vestrymen who founded the Second

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church of Philadelphia in 1742. He joined

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

and other civic leaders to found the Public Academy in 1749 and served as one of its trustees. When it merged with another school to become the

College of Philadelphia The Academy and College of Philadelphia (1749-1791) was a boys' school and men's college in Philadelphia, Colony of Pennsylvania. Founded in 1749 by a group of local notables that included Benjamin Franklin, the Academy of Philadelphia began as a ...

, he served as a trustee of the college from 1755 to 1779; the College is now the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. He was elected to the revived

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1767, and served as its vice president from 1768-1769, and from 1779-1801. While teaching anatomy and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, one of his pupils was future American president

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

. William was known to take corpses from graves at Washington Square for his anatomy lectures, to the extent that African-Americans would stand watch over the graves, and run William and his assistants off. William's brother,

Edward Shippen III Edward Shippen III (July 9, 1703 – September 25, 1781) was an American merchant and mayor of Philadelphia. Biography He was born on July 9, 1703, in Boston. Shippen entered into mercantile pursuits with James Logan, with whom he was in busi ...

(1703–1781, grandfather of

Peggy Shippen Margaret "Peggy" Shippen (July 11, 1760 – August 24, 1804) was the highest-paid spy in the American Revolution, and was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold. Shippen was born into a prominent Philadelphia family with Loyalist tendencies. ...

) was one of the founders of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, for which William served as a trustee from 1765 to 1796. The Pennsylvania Assembly chose Shippen as a delegate to the

on November 20, 1778. He represented his state during congressional sessions in 1779 and 1780, after which he returned to his medical practice. William remained active well into his eighties. He died at home in

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

in 1801 and is buried in the First Presbyterian Churchyard at Philadelphia.

Family

His son,

William Shippen Jr. William Shippen Jr. (October 21, 1736 – July 11, 1808), was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the 3rd Surgeons General of the United ...

, followed his father in a medical career and served as Director of Hospitals for the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. William Jr.'s wife, Alice Lee, was the daughter of Thomas Lee of the Lee family of Virginia; their daughter "Nancy" Shippen (briefly) married Henry Beekman Livingston, the son of

Robert Livingston (1718–1775) Robert Robert Livingston, also called The Judge (August 1718 – December 9, 1775), was a prominent colonial American politician, and a leading Whig in New York in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Early life Robert R. Livingsto ...

. The family served as guardians of

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

(born 1756) and his elder sister Sally from 1758 to 1759, after the deaths of both of the Burr children's parents as well as both of their maternal grandparents in 1757 and 1758. In 1759, the Burr children's guardianship passed to their 21-year old maternal uncle, Timothy Edwards. Daughter Susan married Samuel Blair, the second

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

References

External links

*
Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shippen, William 1712 births 1801 deaths Physicians from Philadelphia People of colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American physicians American anatomists American people of English descent Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians Physicians in the American Revolution William Shippen University of Pennsylvania people

Biography

Family

References

Further reading

External links