Joseph Leidy notes of a post mortem examination of W. E. Horner

Collection

Identifier: MSS 2/170-02

Scope and Contents

Leidy describes condition of W. E. Horner’s internal organs at time of death on 13 Mar. 1853; emphasis placed on heart and kidneys. Horner died of enteroperitonitis.

Transcribed in "The Final Appearance of Dr. William E. Horner" Fugitive Leaves from the Historical Collections, ser. 3, vol. 5, no. 2 (1990), pp. 5-6.

Dates

1853

Creator

Leidy, Joseph (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Joseph Leidy, Philadelphia anatomist and naturalist, was born on 9 Sept. 1823. He married Anna Harden in 1864; they had one adoptive daughter, Alwinia. Leidy died on 29 Apr. 1891. Leidy received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1844. From 1846 to 1853, he was a lecturer at the Franklin Medical College. In 1853, he succeeded W. E. Horner as professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania; Leidy held this post until his death. During the Civil War, he served as a surgeon at the Satterlee General Hospital in Philadelphia. From 1870 to 1885, Leidy was professor of natural history at Swarthmore College. From 1881 to 1891, he was president of the Academy of Natural Sciences; he was also president of the Wagner Free Institute of Science. He made many contributions to anatomy, vertebrate paleontology, and parasitology.