James Thacher (February 14, 1754 – May 26, 1844) was an American physician and writer, born in

Barnstable, Massachusetts Barnstable ( ) is a List of municipalities in Massachusetts, town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population ...

Biography

When Thacher was 16 he became an apprentice for Abner Hersey, a doctor from Barnstable, Massachusetts. From 1775 to 1783 he was a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

in the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, in the Massachusetts 16th Regiment. Afterward, he practiced in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

until his death. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1803. He was married to Susannah Hayward of

Bridgewater, Massachusetts Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city's population was 28,633. The historic town center of Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston, Massachusetts and approxima ...

. They had six children. However, only two daughters lived into adulthood. Thacher was stationed at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1780 and supported the execution by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

of the British spy

John André Major John André (May 2, 1750 – October 2, 1780) was a British Army officer who served as the head of Britain's intelligence operations during the American War for Independence. In September 1780, he negotiated with Continental Army offic ...

Works

*''Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War'' (1823) *''Observations Relative to the Execution of Major John André as a Spy in 1780'' (1834) *''American New Dispensatory'' (1810; fourth edition, 1821) *''History of the town of Plymouth, from its first settlement in 1620, to the present time'' (1835) *''An Essay on Demonology, Ghosts and Apparitions, and Popular Superstitions'' ''Also, an Account of the Witchcraft Delusion at Salem'', (1692) *Several other books.

References

External links

The Online Books Page: James Thacher

James Thacher correspondence, 1781-1842 (inclusive). B MS c1. Boston Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thacher, James 18th-century American physicians American political writers American male non-fiction writers American science writers Physicians from Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Barnstable, Massachusetts 1754 births 1844 deaths Historians from Massachusetts 18th-century American male writers

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links