John Addison Fordyce (February 16, 1858 - June 4, 1925) was an American professor of

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the Human skin, skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, ...

whose name is associated with Fordyce's spot, angiokeratoma of Fordyce, Brooke–Fordyce trichoepithelioma, and Fox–Fordyce disease.

Early life and education

John Addison Fordyce was born on February 16, 1858 in

Guernsey County, Ohio Guernsey County is a county located in the east-central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,438. Its county seat and largest city is Cambridge. It is named from the Isle of Guernsey in the English ...

. His father John Fordyce was of Scottish ancestry and mother Mary A. Houseman Fordyce of German. He gained his first degree in 1878 and PhD in 1901, both from

Adrian College Adrian College is a Private college, private United Methodist Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40&nbs ...

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

Career

He graduated in 1881 with a degree in medicine from the Chicago Medical College, and subsequently completed his junior posts at the

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

in Chicago. Between 1883 and 1886 he lived at Hot Springs, Ark. Between 1886 and 1888 he was in Vienna, Paris, and Berlin, from where he received his MD.. In Vienna, he studied dermatology with

Moritz Kaposi Moritz Kaposi (, ; 23 October 1837 – 6 March 1902) was a physician and dermatologist from the Austro-Hungarian Empire who discovered the skin tumor that received his name (Kaposi's sarcoma). Biography Early life and name Born in Kaposvár, ...

. In Paris he studied under

Jean Alfred Fournier Jean Alfred Fournier (; 21 May 1832 – 23 December 1914) was a French dermatologist who specialized in the study of venereal disease. Biography As a young man Fournier served as an intern at the Hôpital du Midi as an understudy to Philippe ...

Émile Vidal Jean Baptiste Émile Vidal (18 June 1825 – 16 June 1893) was a French dermatologist who was a native of Paris. He studied medicine in Tours and Paris, becoming ''médecin des hôpitaux'' in 1862. For much of his career he was associated wi ...

and

Ernest Besnier Ernest Henri Besnier (; 21 April 1831 – 15 May 1909, Paris) was a French dermatologist and medical director of the Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris. Early life Ernest Besnier was born on 21 April 1831 in Honfleur, département Calvados. He ...

. He returned to the States and settled down in New York, where he was a specialist in dermatology and syphilis. From 1889 to 1893 he taught at the New York Polyclinic, and later he served as a professor at the

Bellevue Hospital Medical College The New York University Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, the other being the NYU Gr ...

and the

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

. In 1896, he reported on small bumps in the mouth, which he described as a disease. These came to be referred to as Fordyce spots and were found to be only normal sebaceous glands.

Death and legacy

He died on June 4, 1925 in New York. His name is associated with Fordyce's spot, angiokeratoma of Fordyce, Brooke–Fordyce trichoepithelioma, and Fox–Fordyce disease.

Selected publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordyce, John Addison Feinberg School of Medicine alumni Columbia University faculty 1858 births 1925 deaths American dermatologists People from Guernsey County, Ohio