Thomas Graeme (139)

Election date: 1768 (Elected to the revived American Philosophical Society. A member of the Medical Society.)

Thomas Graeme (16 October 1688–4 September 1772) was a physician, public officeholder, and judge, and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society. Born in Balgowan, Perthshire, Scotland, he earned his medical degree in 1714 from the University of Rheims. In 1717 he immigrated to Pennsylvania with his future father-in-law, Lieutenant Governor William Keith. Once in Philadelphia, Graeme’s successful medical practice introduced him to a number of APS members including fellow physicians Drs. John Kearsley and Cadwallader Colden. Graeme’s patients included Pennsylvania proprietor Thomas Penn and Penn’s large household as well as APS members Richard Peters and Jonathan Belcher. Graeme’s life-long work in public office began early with his appointment as port physician in 1726, an important role which required him to inspect the health of newly arrived crews and passengers. In 1731 he was appointed to serve on the province’s Supreme Court. Graeme made time to join social clubs and was a founding member of St. Andrew’s Society. He lived most of life at Graeme Park, the former country estate of Lieutenant Governor Keith, where Graeme envisioned raising livestock while enjoying its bucolic charms. (PI)

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