Eli Ives (February 7, 1779 – October 8, 1861) was an American physician from Connecticut.

Early life and education

Eli Ives was born on February 7, 1779, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, to Lydia (née Auger) and Levi Ives. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1799. He studied medicine with his father and Dr. Aeneas Munson. He then attended lectures in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

with

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

and Caspar Wistar.

Career

In 1801, Ives served as rector of the

Hopkins Grammar School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found ...

in New Haven. In the same year, he started a medical practice in New Haven and continued practicing for over 50 years. Ives was one of the organizers of the

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

and the school organized in 1813. He was appointed as one of the first five professors. He was chair of Materia Medica and Botany for 16 years until 1829 when he became chair of the Theory and Practice of Medicine. In 1853, he left Yale and became professor emeritus. During his time at Yale, he supported the maintenance of its botanical garden. He was a founder of the New Haven Medical Association and a member of the Connecticut State Medical Society. In 1860, he was elected as president of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

. Ives published four articles in early volumes of the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'', an oration before the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

Society in 1802, and an address before the New Haven Horticultural Society in 1837.

Personal life

Ives married Maria Beers, daughter of Nathan Beers, on September 17, 1805. They had three sons and two daughters. Ives died on October 8, 1861, at his home in New Haven. Reverend Dr. Dutton's speech at his funeral was printed in the '' New Englander'' in October 1861 and was distributed as a pamphlet.

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading