Billings, John S. (John Shaw)

Overview Silas Weir Mitchell was born in Philadelphia in 1829. He earned his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in 1850. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Mitchell worked as a contract surgeon in Turner's Lane Hospital in Philadelphia, an army hospital for nervous diseases. was actively involved in numerous local and national medical societies. He was founder and first president of the American Neurological Society and first president of the Philadelphia Neurological Society. In later...

Scope and Contents Letter, 1911 Mar. 26, naming John Shaw Billings as custodian of Benjamin Rush watch (later part of Abbe Cabinet of College of Physicians of Philadelphia), following Mitchell’s death. Note from College Secretary John H. Girvin indicating, since Billings’ death preceded Mitchell’s, Simon Flexner appointed next custodian.