John Covert Boyd (December 24, 1850 – July 7, 1927) was a surgeon and medical director in the

United States Navy Medical Corps The Medical Corps of the United States Navy is a United States Navy staff corps, staff corps consisting of military physicians in a variety of specialties. It is the senior corps among all staff corps, second in precedence only to Line officer, l ...

. He was one of the founders of the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig or KSig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international Fraternities and sororities in North America, fr ...

fraternity.

Early life

John Covert Boyd was born on December 24, 1850, near Bradford Springs in Lee County, South Carolina. His father was William Simms Boyd, who was a graduate of South Carolina Medical College and his mother was Laura Nelson (Covert) Boyd. Boyd's early education was at private schools in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. From 1869 to 1871, he attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. While there, he founded the

fraternity with four other friends on December 10, 1869. After Boyd's second year, he transferred to the medical program at the University of the City of New York, graduating with a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1872.

Career

Boyd was appointed as an assistant surgeon in the Navy Medical Corps, eventually rising to Medical Director. In 1902, he became a professor in the Navy Medical College, Washington, where he was second in seniority. Under the supervision of the Surgeon-General of the Navy, Boyd compiled a book of instructions for medical officers. In 1903, Boyd became the assistant chief of the Navy's Bureau of Surgery and Medicine, serving in this capacity until his retirement. He retired as captain from the Navy Medical Corps on June 11, 1911. Boyd was a fellow of the

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health r ...

. He was a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, 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 ...

, and the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. He was also an honorary member of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia.

Personal life

In 1887, Boyd married Katherine Dorr Willard. The couple had two children, Alice and Walter. They resided in Washington, D. C. He was a member of the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America, North America's oldest learned society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and ...

. He served on the board of directors of the Garfield Hospital and the American Security and Trust Company. In 1905, President Roosevelt appointed Boyd to the central committee of the American National Red Cross. In 1925, Boyd's health declined. Boyd died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on July 7, 1927 at the Hyde Park Hotel in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, John Covert 1850 births 1924 deaths People from Lee County, South Carolina University of Virginia alumni New York University Grossman School of Medicine alumni Kappa Sigma founders United States Navy Medical Corps officers American Red Cross personnel American surgeons Burials at Arlington National Cemetery