Benjamin Gale (210)

Benjamin Gale (14 December 1715–6 May 1790) was a physician and public officeholder and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1768. Born on Long Island to a miller, Gale still received an excellent education, graduating from Yale College in 1733. Choosing to study medicine, he apprenticed under physician Jaret Eliot, a frequent correspondent of botany with APS members including Benjamin Franklin, William Logan Sr., and John Bartram. Of particular note is Gale’s work on inoculation. Conducting his own statistical analysis, Gale concluded that inoculation was indeed the best defense against the virus. In part due to his work, the General Assembly of Connecticut established inoculation hospitals (Gale himself open one in Killingworth) and passed other measures to support inoculation. Oversight of such institutions, sadly, were not regulated and lax, inconsistent efforts impaired the efficacy of these places. With doctors unable to prevent patients from leaving while still contagious, smallpox did what it does best: spread. Counter productively, the Connecticut legislature halted all inoculation, closed hospitals, and threatened fines to anyone who left the colony to get inoculated. In his home community of Killingworth, Gale held small public offices such as justice of the peace and moderator of the town meeting. He opposed American Independence, partly because he feared popular rule and partly because he believed accommodation with Great Britain was possible. Nevertheless, in 1780 he fulfilled a contract with the Continental Congress for large quantities of shot and shell. Following the end of hostilities, Gale returned to the ventures that captured his interest before the war: scientific explorations and mechanical improvements. Additionally, Gale resumed his study of Biblical prophecies, including doing the difficult math of calculating the date of his own resurrection. While skeptics noted that his grave remained undisturbed following his death in 1790, that anyone was paying attention suggests that Gale was not soon forgotten. (PI)