David Hayes Agnew

Agnew was born on November 24, 1818, in Nobleville, Pennsylvania, (present-day Christiana, Pennsylvania), to Robert Agnew and Agnes Noble. In 1833, he entered Jefferson College, but left in 1834 and enrolled in Newark College in Newark, Delaware, where his cousin John Holmes Agnew was a professor of languages. Agnew left Newark College after just one year when his cousin left and Agnew returned home to study medicine under his father. He entered the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1836 and graduated with an M.D. degree on April 6, 1838. He received an A.M. and LL.D. degree from Princeton University and a LL.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. ==Career==

He returned to Nobleville to help his father in his clinic In 1852, he purchased the Philadelphia School of Anatomy for $600 and taught there for ten years. In 1854, he worked as a surgeon in the Philadelphia General Hospital and founded the pathological museum. After the Battle of Gettysburg, he traveled to field hospitals near the battlefield and administered care, including to General Winfield Scott Hancock. This was his first experience with military surgery and an emerging medical field due to the proliferation of gunshot wounds and injuries and diseases due to military activities of the American Civil War. The depth of experience he obtained during the war burnished his reputation as one of the top surgeons in the United States and an expert on gunshot wounds. In 1863, he founded the Philadelphia School of Operative Surgery and worked as a surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital. In 1864, he was appointed surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital and in 1867, surgeon to Orthopedic Hospital. He served as president of the Philadelphia County Medical Society in 1870, the Pennsylvania State Society in 1877, the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery in 1888, and the American Surgical Association in 1888. He served as manager of the Philadelphia House of Refuge for thirty-three years and served on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Dental College and the Franklin Institute. He was elected president of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia in 1890. He published 100 journal articles and several publications on surgery including The Principles and Practice of Surgery, which covered his medical experience of fifty years. ==The Agnew Clinic==

'' painting by Thomas Eakins was commissioned to commemorate Agnew's retirement from the University of Pennsylvania To honor his retirement from teaching, the 1889 graduates from the University of Pennsylvania medical school commissioned Thomas Eakins to paint The Agnew Clinic. The painting was completed in three months and presented to Agnew at that year's graduation ceremonies. The 11 by 7 foot canvas depicts Agnew lecturing an amphitheater full of medical students on a surgery he just performed. ==Death and legacy==

Agnew suffered a severe attack of influenza in 1890 and never fully recovered. By March 9, 1892, he was bed-ridden for a series of medical problems. On March 20, he fell into a coma and died on March 22, 1892. He was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Although he was not a member of the American Anthropometric Society, the organization requested that his brain be donated to their collection after his death. His wife was opposed to the request and did not provide consent. He left $68,000 to various charitable organizations. The D. Hayes Agnew Surgical Pavilion at the University of Pennsylvania medical center was named in his honor. ==Personal life==

He married Margaret Creighton Irwin on November 21, 1841. He was an abolitionist and a member of the American Colonization Society. ==References==