dertaken for the relief of an incarcerated strangulated hernia, and the lesion of the appendix was discovered incidentally, so that while the first to succeed in extirpating a perforated appendix, it yet remains for us to discover who executed with intention the first successful operation for disease in that organ.
Hall, Richard Wilmot (1785–1847).
Richard Wilmot Hall was born in Harford County, Maryland, in 1785. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1806, with a thesis on the "Use of Electricity in Medicine."
In 1811 he went to Baltimore and in 1812– 13 was adjunct professor of obstetrics in the College of Medicine of Maryland, becoming professor in the latter year, when the name was changed to the University of Maryland, a position he held until 1847, part of the time being also professor of hygiene; in 1819 and in 1837–38 he was dean of the University.
He translated Larrey's "Memoirs of Military Surgery" . . . . 2 vols.: 415 pp., 3 pl.; 434 pp., 11 pl., Baltimore, 1814.
Dr. Hall died at Baltimore, Sept. 14, 1847.
Hall, William Whitty (1810–1876).
William Whitty Hall, popular medical writer and editor of Hall's Journal of Health, was born in Paris, Kentucky, in 1810. He was a graduate of Centre College in 1830, and M. D. of Transylvania College (1836). After practising medicine for fifteeen years in the South, he moved to New York and in 1854 began publishing his Journal, which reached a wide circulation. He was editor of Hall's Medical Adviser (1875), and wrote much on hygiene and kindred subjects. Among his books are "Treatise on Cholera," New York, 1852; "Bronchitis and Kindred Diseases," 1852; "Consumption," 1857; "Health and Disease," 1860; "Sleep; or, The Hygiene of the Night," 352 pp. 4th Ed., 1864, New Ed. 1870; "Coughs and Colds. . . . ," 362 pp. (1870).
He fell in a fit in the street in New York, May 10, 1876, and died immediately.
A printed notice at the time said: "This seems a bad commentary upon the laws of health as expounded by Dr. Hall, if he practised what he preached. We do not think much of a system of living which will not preserve a man of good physique from breaking down at the age of 66."
Halliburton, John (1740(?)–1808)
John Halliburton, son of a Presbyterian clergyman of Haddington, Scotland, was born about 1740 and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1808.
In 1760, or a little later, he was surgeon on board a British frigate, commanded by Lord Colville. On her arrival at Newport, Rhode Island, he became acquainted with the Hon. Jahleel Brenton and deeply attached to one of his daughters. Having completed a required term of service on the ship, he returned to Newport and married Miss Susanna Brenton in the year 1767, and settled down to practise in Newport. Here he seems to have been very successful and accumulated a good deal of property. But little good did it bring him, for as he adhered to the side of the Motherland in the dispute with the Colonies, he was compelled during the Revoluntionary War to abandon his practice and property and make his escape from Rhode Island. On the pretext of visiting patients on the mainland, Dr. Halliburton secretly left Newport in a barge and landed safely at Long Island, where the British Army was stationed. On his arrival at headquarters he presented himself to Sir Henry Clinton, who (as some recognition of his services) offered him the headship of the Naval Medical Department at Halifax. Having accepted this he soon afterwards sailed from New York and reached Halifax in 1782, his wife and family coming a year later. In addition to his official duties, Dr. Halliburton entered into general practice and became a leader in his profession. In 1787 he was appointed a member of His Majesty's Council. Sir Brenton Halliburton, for a long time Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, was his son. The inscription on his tombstone in St. Paul's cemetery happily summarizes his characteristics:
"If unshaken loyalty to his king, steady attachment to his friends, active benevolence to the destitute, and humble confidence in God can perpetuate his memory, he will not be forgotten."
Hamilton, Alexander (1712–1756).
Dr. Alexander Hamilton was a native of Scotland, and a graduate of medicine. He was a cousin of Dr. R. Hamilton, professor of anatomy and botany in the University of Glasgow, where it is probable he received his medical education. He "learnt pharmacy" in the "shop" of David Knox, an Edinburgh surgeon, and visited London. An elder brother
