Reuben Dimond Mussey, Sr. (June 23, 1780 – June 21, 1866) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, surgeon,

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and an early opponent of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. He was the fourth president of 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 ...

Biography

Mussey was born on June 23, 1780, in

Rockingham County, New Hampshire Rockingham County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 314,176, making it New Hampshire's second-most populous county. The county seat is Brentwood. Rockingham County is part of the Boston ...

.Capace, Nancy. (2000). ''Encyclopedia of New Hampshire''. Somerset Publications. pp. 250–252. He was of

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

descent, and his father, John Mussey, was also a medical doctor. Mussey studied at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and then learned medicine under Nathan Smith. He began the practice of medicine in

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...

. However, he then went to the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of M ...

where he did further medical studies, graduating M.D. in 1809. Among his professors at the University of Pennsylvania was

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was an American revolutionary, a Founding Father of the United States and signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social refor ...

. Mussey was elected an Associate Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1811. He then was a professor at the medical school at Dartmouth College and also at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

, as well as serving as a medical lecturer at other institutions. Mussey is credited as the first surgeon to tie both

carotid arteries In anatomy, the left and right common carotid arteries (carotids) () are arteries that supply the head and neck with oxygenated blood; they divide in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries. Structure The common carotid ...

in 1829. He lectured on anatomy and surgery at

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 ...

(1831–1835) and

Fairfield Academy Fairfield Academy was an academy that existed for nearly one hundred years in the Town of Fairfield, New York, Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York. Founding It was organized as an academy for men in 1802, when the community was an active local ...

(1836–1838). He was professor of surgery at the

Medical College of Ohio The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences is a medical school affiliated with the University of Toledo, a public university located in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The College is located on the University of Toledo's Health ...

(1838–1852) and was chair of surgery at Miami Medical College in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(1852–1857). Mussey was an advocate of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

. In 1828, a temperance society was founded at Dartmouth. In 1850 he served as president of the

He was awarded an

LL.D A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from Dartmouth in 1854 and an honorary A. M. in 1806 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Mussey died on June 21, 1866, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Family

His son Reuben D. Mussey, Jr. was a lawyer and the husband of Ellen Spencer Mussey, the founder of the first law school for females. Mussey and his first wife Mary Sewall did not have any children. After her death he married Herry Osgood, and they had nine children. Besides Reuben Jr., there was also William H. Mussey and Francis B. Mussey who both followed their father into the medical profession. Charles F. Mussey became a Presbyterian minister. Mussey's daughter Maria married Lyman Mason, and his daughter Catharine married Shattuck Hartwell.

Vegetarianism

Mussey was a vegetarian who abstained from

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and tobacco. In 1832, Mussey "gave up the eating of flesh as an experiment", he did not eat the flesh of land animals for the rest of his life but occasionally consumed fish in 1850. He was a frequent contributor to

William Alcott William Andrus Alcott (August 6, 1798 – March 29, 1859), also known as William Alexander Alcott, was an American educator, educational reformer, physician, vegetarian and author of many books. His works, which include a wide range of topics i ...

's vegetarian journal ''Library of Health''. His 1862 book ''Health: Its Friends and Foes'' included chapters on vegetarianism and on the dangers of tobacco. It was positively reviewed in the '' Cincinnati Lancet and Observer'' and ''

The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor w ...

''. Mussey was a founding member and vice-president of the

American Vegetarian Society Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer. He was known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. His preaching inspired the ...

in the 1850s.Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret. (2003). ''"For the Good of the Whole": Vegetarianism in 19th-century America''. Indiana University. p. 102

Selected publications

''Health: Its Friends and Foes''
(1862)
''What Shall I Drink?''
(1863)

References

External links