Peter Dirck Keyser (February 8, 1835 – March 9, 1897) was an American

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

Biography

Peter Dirck Keyser was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania on February 8, 1835.

Studies

He studied at

Delaware College The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

until 1851, when he entered the

chemical laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools, u ...

of Frederick A. Genth, and there made analyses of

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s, the results of which were published in the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himself ...

'', and were afterward incorporated in Dana's ''Mineralogy''. In 1856 he went to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and pursued professional studies for two years.

Civil War service

Soon after the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he became captain in the 91st Pennsylvania Regiment, and served with the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

until after the Battle of Fair Oaks. Failing health then led to his resignation. He returned to Germany, where he studied at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, and then at that of

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

, receiving there the degree of

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the 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 physician. This ge ...

in 1864. On his return to the United States, he was appointed acting assistant surgeon in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, and was detailed to Cuyler Hospital in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1865 he resigned from the service to enter on his private practice. On April 15, 1865, Keyser was one of three co-founders of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

, or

MOLLUS The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

. It was the first post-Civil War veterans' organization, and was open to men who had served in the suppression of the Rebellion and who had held a commission in the armed forces of the United States. He was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 00003. The organization exists today, composed largely of the descendants of those officers.

Medical practice

He became director of the Philadelphia Eye and Ear Infirmary. In 1868 he delivered a course of lectures to physicians upon the accommodation and refraction of the eye, and in 1870 he delivered the first regular course of clinical lectures on ophthalmology that ever was given in Philadelphia, repeating the course in 1871–72. Keyser was elected ophthalmic surgeon to the medical department of the Philadelphia German Society in 1870, and one of the surgeons to the Wills Ophthalmic Hospital in 1872.

Memberships and writings

Keyser was a member of medical societies and of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and he was a contributor of medical papers to the journals of his profession both in the United States and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. His earlier works were on

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

; later he published ''Report on Operations for Cataract'' (1874), and other papers in the same field.

Death

Peter Dirck Keyser died at his home in Philadelphia on March 9, 1897.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Peter Dirck 1835 births 1897 deaths American chemists American ophthalmologists University of Jena alumni Physicians from Philadelphia University of Delaware alumni People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War 19th-century American people Founders of lineage societies