H. Lenox Hodge notebooks

Collection

Identifier: MSS 2/341

Scope and Contents

Contents: Daily journal dated 1861; notes on certain cases occurring in the Pennsylvania Hospital, dated July 8th, 1858; ledger and field notes dated 1864

Dates

1858, 1861, 1864

Creator

Hodge, H. Lenox (Hugh Lenox) (Person)

Biographical / Historical

H. Lenox Hodge was born in Philadelphia on 30 July 1836 to Hugh L. and Margaret (Aspinall) Hodge. He married Harriet Roosevelt on 7 Jan. 1869. Hodge died on 16 June 1881 in Philadelphia.

As a child Hodge was educated in private schools. He received his A.B. in 1855, and his A.M. and M.D. in 1858 from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, he was a Resident Physician at the Pennsylvania Hospital (1858-1860). Hodge set up private practice in Philadelphia in 1860, eventually specializing in surgery and the diseases of women.

During the Civil War, Hodge served as a Surgeon to Satterlee Hospital in Philadelphia (1862). He was a member of the Pa. Reserve Corps of Surgeons, and was Pension Surgeon to the U.S. Sanitary Commission.

A gifted speaker, Hodge was quite successful as a private lecturer on operative surgery. Together with Drs. Bolling and J. Cheston Morris, he founded a quiz association for medical students in 1861. It became know as the Medical Institute, a namesake of Dr. Chapman’s organization, and lasted until 1872.

Hodge served as a Demonstrator of Surgery (1861-1863) at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1864 he became Surgeon to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The success of the Medical Institute prompted his appointment as Demonstrator of Anatomy (1870-1881) in the University of Pennsylvania. He revitalized the study of anatomy at the University by creating a bright, ventilated, and furnished dissecting room, by keeping records of anomalies found there, and by offering an annual prize for student reports on anatomical studies. In 1872 he helped found the Presbyterian Hospital, and served as its first Surgeon.

Hodge was a member of the American Medical Association, Philadelphia County Medical Society, Philadelphia Obstetrical Society, and Philadelphia Pathological Society (President, 1876-1879). He was elected to the Fellowship of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in April 1863.