John Dennison Russ (September 1, 1801 – March 1, 1881) was an American physician and co-founder of the New York Institute for the Blind and The Children's Village, along with 23 others.

Biography

Russ was born in Essex, Massachusetts (then the parish of Chebacco, in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

) on September 1, 1801, to Parker and Elizabeth Russ (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

cogswell). He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1823. Upon leaving college, he began the study of medicine with John D. Wells, Professor of anatomy and physiology in

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

, he continued it at Baltimore Medical School and Boston Medical School, and received his doctorate from the

Yale Medical School 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 ...

in 1825. After spending a year in hospitals abroad, he began practicing in New York City, but in June 1827, sailed from Boston in charge of supplies for the Greeks in their struggle for liberty. He remained in Greece, superintending the development of a hospital service, until his health failed, in the spring of 1830. On his return he entered again in practice in New York City. At an early date he became interested in the condition of poor children with

ophthalmia Ophthalmia (; also called ophthalmitis, and archaically obtalmy) is inflammation of the eye. It results in congestion of the eyeball, often eye-watering, redness and swelling, itching and burning, and a general feeling of irritation under the ey ...

in the city hospitals, and at his own cost made (in March, 1832) the first attempt at the instruction of the blind which was made in America. He was in the same year appointed Superintendent of the newly chartered New York Institute for the Blind, and in that position introduced many devices in methods of teaching which have been permanently useful. In the midst of these labors his health failed, and he was compelled to resign and seek restoration by a long absence in Europe. After his return, he engaged in numerous other philanthropic schemes, especially by serving from 1846 to 1854 as the corresponding secretary of the Prison Association of New York, and by originating measures in 1849 which led to the incorporation of the New York Juvenile Asylum (now Children's Village) in 1851. He was the superintendent of this asylum, resigning in 1858. He was also a member of the

Board of Education of the City of New York The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

for four years, 1848–51. During his old age he resided in Pompton Township, New Jersey making further improvements in methods of printing for the blind, and interesting himself in other general studies. He died in Pompton, of diabetes, March 1, 1881, in his 80th year. In 1830, he married Eliza P. Jenkins, daughter of a captain in the English navy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russ, john dennison 1801 births 1881 deaths Physicians from New York (state) American hospital administrators Yale School of Medicine alumni People from Essex, Massachusetts 19th-century Greek physicians Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Yale College alumni

Biography

See also

References