John Jones (281)

John Jones (10 May 1729–23 June 1791) was a physician, surgeon, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1769. Born in Long Island to Quaker parents, Jones studied medicine under his father, a physician, and then his cousin in Philadelphia. In 1750, Jones went to London to further his studies, attending lectures and observing surgeries. He received his M.D. from the University of Rheims the following year. Shortly thereafter, he returned to New York to establish his own medical practice and served as surgeon with provincial troops in the French and Indian War (1754–63). Notably, he treated the injuries of a captive French general. In 1767, he successfully petitioned King’s College (now Columbia University) alongside his colleagues for the establishment of a medical department and became the department’s first professor of surgery. During the Revolutionary War, Jones examined military surgeon candidates and wrote a manual for their instruction, Plain, Concise, Practical Remarks on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures (1775). When New York fell to the British in 1776, Jones left the city to attend to wounded soldiers elsewhere, leading to his election to the New York assembly the same year. Very little of his library, papers, and anatomical collections survived the British occupation, which caused Jones to lose much of his income. Due to this and his failing health, Jones moved to Philadelphia in 1779. In Philadelphia, he received many honors, such as becoming a physician of the Pennsylvania Hospital (1780), and the first Vice President of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (1787). He also treated high-profile patients such as Benjamin Franklin and performed surgery on President George Washington in 1790. Jones died the following year in Philadelphia. (ANB)