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James Read Chadwick

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James Read Chadwick
Born(1844-11-02)November 2, 1844
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedSeptember 23, 1905(1905-09-23) (aged 60)
Chocorua, New Hampshire, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University
Harvard Medical School
Spouse
Katherine Maria Lyman
​
​
(m. 1871; died 1889)​
RelativesElizabeth Chadwick Whittier (sister)

James Read Chadwick (November 2, 1844 – September 23, 1905) was an American gynecologist and medical librarian remembered for describing the Chadwick sign of early pregnancy in 1887.

Early life and education

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Chadwick was born in Boston on November 2, 1844.[1] He was a son of Christopher Chamberlain Chadwick (1821–1871), a Boston merchant, and Louisa (née Read) Chadwick (1821–1913).[2] His sister, Elizabeth (née Chadwick) Whittier, was married to Brig. Gen. Charles A. Whittier.[3]

He received a B.A. at Harvard in 1865, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1871, studied obstetrics in Europe from 1871 to 1873, and then worked as a gynecologist in Boston.[4]

Career

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From 1874 he worked at the Boston City Hospital, helping to found the gynecological department, and taught at Harvard Medical School.[5][6] He helped to found, and became secretary and president of the American Gynaecological Society.[7] He was a founder of the Boston Medical Library Association in 1875, and worked as the librarian until his death. He was voted president of the Association of Medical Librarians in 1904. He was the first president of the Harvard Medical Alumni Association in 1891. He was a supporter of women in the practice of medicine, writing a report which cited the contributions of women in medicine.[8][9]

A strong advocate of cremation, he was president of the Massachusetts Cremation Society from 1894 until his sudden death in 1905.[6][10]

He contributed many articles on his specialty to the Transactions of the American Gynecological Association, the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, the American Journal of Obstetrics, among others.[6]

Personal life

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On May 11, 1871, Chadwick was married to Katherine Maria Lyman (1848–1889) in Boston. Maria was the daughter of Dr. George Hinckley Lyman and his wife, Maria Cornelia Ritchie Austin. Her younger brother was George H. Lyman, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican state committee and Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston, and her great-grandfather was Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Vice President of the United States (under President James Madison). Together, they were the parents of three daughters and two sons, including:[2]

  • Nora Chadwick (1873–1961), who married Julian Codman, a grandson of merchant Russell Sturgis and nephew of architect John Hubbard Sturgis.[11]
  • Margaret Chadwick
  • Elizabeth Lyman "Bessie" Chadwick (1875–1912), who married Douglas H. Thomas (1872–1915) in 1901.[12]
  • James Read Chadwick Jr. (1877–1879), who died young.
  • Elbridge Gerry Chadwick (1881–1945), who married Dorothy Curtis Jordan, a granddaughter of Eben Dyer Jordan (co-founder of the department store chain Jordan Marsh).[13]

His wife died on July 13, 1889, in Birmingham, England. Chadwick died from a fall from a piazza roof at his summer home in Chocorua, New Hampshire, on September 23, 1905.[1] He was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "DR. J.R. CHADWICK KILLED.; Supposed to Have Fallen from Piazza Roof of His Country Home". The New York Times. 25 September 1905. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Librarians, Association of Medical (1906). Medical Library and Historical Journal. pp. 113–114. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Obituary Notes. Mrs. ELIZABETH C. WHITTIER". The New York Times. January 29, 1906. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  4. ^ Biography at Medicine in Maryland 1752–1920 Accessed on 24 March 2009.
  5. ^ Women Working 1800–1930 Harvard University Library. Accessed on 24 March 2009.
  6. ^ a b c This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Chadwick, James Read" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  7. ^ Rutkow, Ira M. (1992). The history of surgery in the United States : 1775-1900. San Francisco: Norman. p. 114. ISBN 9780930405489.
  8. ^ James R. Chadwick, M.D. The Study and Practice of Medicine by Women 1879. Harvard University Library. Accessed on 24 March 2009.
  9. ^ Medical Library and Historical Journal. The Association. 1907. p. 49. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  10. ^ James Read Chadwick. In Memoriam: A Brief Sketch of His Life. Medical Library and Historical Journal. 1906 March; 4(1): 112.2–114. Full text Accessed on 24 March 2009.
  11. ^ "Society". Boston Home Journal: 6. 1902. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  12. ^ Converse, David (1904). "The World of To-Day". Boston Home Journal: 4. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  13. ^ Association, Theodore Roosevelt (1990). Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. The Association. p. 63. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
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