Benjamin Rush, M.D: A Bibliographic Guide

Benjamin Rush (1746-1813) exerted a remarkably wide-ranging influence on the medical, political, and social life of the emerging American nation. He fulfilled the multiple roles of first American professor of chemistry, signer of the Declaration of Independence, foremost American physician, father of American psychiatry, pioneer abolitionist, educator, advocate of temperance, and proponent of prison reform. The success of these endeavors rested largely on the strength and size of his literary output, which was unparalleled by any of the other founding fathers. This bibliographic guide is the only work to identify all of Rush's published writings as well as hundreds of writings about him.

The Introduction surveys Rush's published writings on a variety of topics and places them in their late 18th and early 19th century context. Part one provides a comprehensive chronological listing of Rush's published works, including articles, pamphlets, and books in all their editions. Part one also includes comments from Rush scholars on the nature and significance of many of the works, along with references to contemporary reviews. Extensive cross-references show the relationship between documents. Aids to locating the documents in their original, reprinted, and microtext forms are also provided. Part two lists over 500 publications about Rush and his role in American history. The work includes a title and general index to part one and an author and general index to part two.

Claire G. Fox is an independent scholar specializing in the history of medicine and veterinary medicine. Follwing the completion of her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Fox continued with her research at the Institute for the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University. She is Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and is a member of both the American Association for the History of Medicine and the New York Academy of Sciences.

Gordon L. Miller is a historian who specializes in environmental history and the history of science. He has taught at Milligan College and Drew University and is a former academic librarian. He is the author of The History of Science: An Annotated Bibliography (1992), and Wisdom of the Earth (1996). He is currently president of Green Rock Press.

Jacquelyn C. Miller is assistant professor of early American history at Seattle University. Her current research deals with the social dimensions of the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, and she is the author of Passions and Politics: The Multiple Meanings of Benjamin Rush's Treatment for Yellow Fever (1996).