Morrill Wyman
Encyclopedia
Morrill Wyman was an American physician and social reformer. Best known today for his work on hay fever
, he was one of the most respected doctors of his time, a social reformer, Harvard overseer, hospital president, and author in his long lifetime.
Wyman was the son of Dr. Rufus Wyman, first director of the McLean Asylum
, and Elizabeth Morrill. He and his brother Jeffries Wyman
(later first curator of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
at Harvard) graduated from Harvard in 1833 and received medical degrees in 1837. Soon thereafter he set up a medical practice in Cambridge
which he continued for over 50 years.
, and he published a book on the subject in 1846. He also devised a method and device for removing excess fluid from the chest cavity (1850). During the Civil War
he served on a Sanitary Committee that inspected army medical facilities, being considered too old and too busy of a doctor to send to the front lines. After the Civil War
Wyman became interested in hay fever
, which he and members of his family suffered from, and he conducted experiments that convinced him that ragweed
was a cause of what he called "Autumnal Cattarh"; gathering data from correspondents, he published the first pollen
maps of the United States
so that sufferers could plan vacations in low pollen
areas.
Wyman lectured on medical subjects for many years, both at a private medical school which he and his brother Jeffries
conducted in Boston and at Harvard, where he served as interim professor of anatomy 1853-1856. He took a special interest in the Harvard Medical School
during his terms as a Harvard overseer (1875–1887).
on young women and girls, Wyman led a petition drive, spoke and wrote on the subject, and ultimately served terms on the Cambridge
School Board. He soon allied with others such as Bostonian John P. Ordway
who wished to ban corporal punishment in the public schools for both sexes. Wyman testified at a hearing in 1868 on a bill to abolish all corporal punishment in public schools in Massachusetts
- a bill which passed the lower house of the General Court
, but failed in the Senate. (Corporal punishment in public schools was ultimately prohibited by law in Massachusetts
in 1972.) His efforts did not lead to a long-standing ban on corporal punishment in Cambridge schools, but increased public awareness of it, and new reporting requirements probably reduced it considerably.
, inventor and Harvard professor, who had been a friend of Wyman's. During his long career as a physician, he treated many prominent patients, including Theodore Roosevelt
, Charles Eliot, and Louis Agassiz
. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
in 1872. His son Morrill Wyman Jr. wrote a short book on the lives of his father and grandfather; it was published privately not long before his own death in 1913.
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
, he was one of the most respected doctors of his time, a social reformer, Harvard overseer, hospital president, and author in his long lifetime.
Wyman was the son of Dr. Rufus Wyman, first director of the McLean Asylum
McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research...
, and Elizabeth Morrill. He and his brother Jeffries Wyman
Jeffries Wyman
Jeffries Wyman was an American naturalist and anatomist, born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Wyman died in Bethlehem, New Hampshire of a pulmonary hemorrhage.-Career:...
(later first curator of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, and is particularly strong in New World ethnography and...
at Harvard) graduated from Harvard in 1833 and received medical degrees in 1837. Soon thereafter he set up a medical practice in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
which he continued for over 50 years.
Medical Work
Early in his career Wyman became interested in ventilation, and became an expert on the ventilation of sickrooms and public buildings. A paper on the subject won an award from the Massachusetts Medical SocietyMassachusetts Medical Society
The Massachusetts Medical Society is the oldest continuously-operating state medical society in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization that consists of approximately 22,000 physicians, medical students...
, and he published a book on the subject in 1846. He also devised a method and device for removing excess fluid from the chest cavity (1850). During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
he served on a Sanitary Committee that inspected army medical facilities, being considered too old and too busy of a doctor to send to the front lines. After the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
Wyman became interested in hay fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
, which he and members of his family suffered from, and he conducted experiments that convinced him that ragweed
Ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the sunflower family Asteraceae. Common names include bitterweeds and bloodweeds....
was a cause of what he called "Autumnal Cattarh"; gathering data from correspondents, he published the first pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
maps of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
so that sufferers could plan vacations in low pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
areas.
Wyman lectured on medical subjects for many years, both at a private medical school which he and his brother Jeffries
Jeffries Wyman
Jeffries Wyman was an American naturalist and anatomist, born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Wyman died in Bethlehem, New Hampshire of a pulmonary hemorrhage.-Career:...
conducted in Boston and at Harvard, where he served as interim professor of anatomy 1853-1856. He took a special interest in the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
during his terms as a Harvard overseer (1875–1887).
Corporal Punishment
The whipping of a 16-year-old girl named Josephine Foster in a Cambridge school in 1866 gave Wyman a new cause. Convinced that it was harmful to use corporal punishmentCorporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
on young women and girls, Wyman led a petition drive, spoke and wrote on the subject, and ultimately served terms on the Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
School Board. He soon allied with others such as Bostonian John P. Ordway
John P. Ordway
John Pond Ordway ) was a doctor, composer, music entrepreneur, and politician.Ordway was born at Salem, Massachusetts. Graduating from Harvard Medical College in 1859, Ordway was one of the first surgeons to volunteer at the start of the Civil War, serving in the 6th Regiment, Massachusetts...
who wished to ban corporal punishment in the public schools for both sexes. Wyman testified at a hearing in 1868 on a bill to abolish all corporal punishment in public schools in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
- a bill which passed the lower house of the General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, but failed in the Senate. (Corporal punishment in public schools was ultimately prohibited by law in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
in 1972.) His efforts did not lead to a long-standing ban on corporal punishment in Cambridge schools, but increased public awareness of it, and new reporting requirements probably reduced it considerably.
Other Accomplishments
Morrill Wyman also served as president of "Cambridge Hospital" (now Mount Auburn Hospital) during the construction of its first building; a building at the hospital now bears his name. After formally closing his practice in 1892 (although he continued to see devoted patients for many years after that), Wyman wrote an article and later a book on the life of Daniel TreadwellDaniel Treadwell
Daniel Treadwell was an American inventor, born at Ipswich, Massachusetts. Amongst his most important inventions are a hemp-spinning machine for the production of cordage, and a method of constructing cannon from wrought iron and steel.His first invention, made at an early age, was a machine for...
, inventor and Harvard professor, who had been a friend of Wyman's. During his long career as a physician, he treated many prominent patients, including Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Charles Eliot, and Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
Personal life
Wyman married Elizabeth Aspinwall Pulsifer, the orphan daughter of a ship's captain, and they had four children. He was greatly saddened by the death of his brother JeffriesJeffries Wyman
Jeffries Wyman was an American naturalist and anatomist, born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Wyman died in Bethlehem, New Hampshire of a pulmonary hemorrhage.-Career:...
in 1872. His son Morrill Wyman Jr. wrote a short book on the lives of his father and grandfather; it was published privately not long before his own death in 1913.
Publications
- Practical Treatise on Ventilation (1846)
- The Reality and Certainty of Medicine: An address delivered at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society, June 17, 1863 (1863)
- Progress in School Discipline: Corporal Punishment in the Public Schools (1867)
- Autumnal Catarrh (1872)
- The Early History of the McLean Asylum for the Insane: A criticism of the report of the Massachusetts State Board of Health for 1877 (1877)
- Memoir of Daniel Treadwell (1887)