John Miller Turpin Finney (June 20, 1863 – May 30, 1942) was an American surgeon and academic who also served as a brigadier general during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He is best remembered for serving as the first president of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

Biography

Finney was born on June 20, 1863, on a plantation near

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. His father, Ebenezer Dickey Finney, was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, and his mother, Annie Parker Finney, died shortly after his birth. His grandfather William D. Finney was pastor of Churchville Presbyterian Church in

Churchville, Maryland Churchville is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States, situated between the county seat, Bel Air, Maryland, Bel Air, and Aberdeen, Maryland, Aberdeen, where Aberdeen Pr ...

. Finney attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and graduated on his twenty-first birthday. He then attended and graduated from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. he played on the football teams of both schools. After interning at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

, Finney joined the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1889 as a member of its surgical staff. He worked alongside

William Stewart Halsted William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (September 23, 1852 – September 7, 1922) was an American surgeon who emphasized strict aseptic technique during surgical procedures, was an early champion of newly discovered anesthetics, and introduced severa ...

, became a professor at the university, and started the school's dispensary. He had a good reputation and received patients from across the United States and even had house calls to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. Upon

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's resignation as Princeton University's president in 1911, the school's trustees unanimously chose Finney to succeed him, though Finney declined the appointment. In May 1913, he became the first president of the

and served in that position for three years.https://www.facs.org/~/media/files/archives/cameron2008.ashx Finney had been commissioned as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Maryland Army National Guard The Maryland Army National Guard (MD ARNG) is the United States Army component of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is headquartered at the old Fifth Regiment Armory at the intersection of North Howard Street, 29th Division Street, near Martin Lut ...

. During

, he commanded the Johns-Hopkins Medical Unit, Base Hospital Number Eighteen while at the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Upon his promotion to brigadier general on October 1, 1918, he became the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

' chief consultant in surgery. His method for treating

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

s became the standard practice. For his efforts, he received the Order of the Crown from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Finney wrote ''A Surgeon's Life'', published by

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

, in 1940.

Personal life

Finney married Mary Elizabeth Gross in 1892, and they had four children together. He was "a very religious man" and was active in the Presbyterian Church. He died on May 30, 1942. He was buried at Churchville Presbyterian Church in Churchville, Maryland.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, John Miller Turpin 1863 births 1942 deaths American surgeons Princeton University alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians Johns Hopkins University faculty People from Natchez, Mississippi Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Officers of the Legion of Honour United States Army generals of World War I United States Army generals Military personnel from Mississippi