Happy 280th Birthday to John Archer

I am working on a huge project writing the biographies of all 101 of our founders, and as I was beginning to write the one for John Archer, I realized that today's the 280th anniversary of his birth. Dr. Archer is notable in that he was the first person in the United States to receive a medical diploma. 

John Archer was born in Churchville on May 5, 1741, and was the only one of five siblings who survived childhood. He was educated at Nottingham Academy and Princeton College. After graduation, he briefly considered opening a grammar school in Baltimore, but instead attended Princeton’s School of Theology, after which he became a Presbyterian minister. Although he mastered the prayers and the order of service, he did not find theology satisfying, and his first sermon was a serious bomb, so he began medical school.

Archer, one in a class of ten students, studied medicine with Professor John Morgan at the College of Medicine in Philadelphia, which later became the University of Pennsylvania. Archer graduated in 1768, the first person in the New World to receive a medical degree. There was some contention as to who would be the first, but by virtue of his last name, Archer was it. 

There was a dispute as to whether Archer actually received a medical degree, as there was really no such thing at the time. During the first years of the College of Medicine, there were two degrees awarded. First was a MB or Medical Bachelor, and three years later an MD was awarded. However, Archer never applied for the second degree, and officially, only a very few actually received the MD degree. The rule was discontinued in 1792.   

In those days, physicians still relied on what we now call “folk medicine.” Among Archer’s papers are notations prescribing juice of several millipedes, and other physicians at that time were suggesting a goat’s blood julep, powdered bees and viper’s flesh, all washed down with frog-spawn water. I guess that proved that what didn’t kill you, would cure you.

In 1769, Archer returned to Harford County to begin his medical practice, which continued for 40 years, with only two interruptions: The American Revolution and his service in the US Congress.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, Archer was already a seasoned physician, and he and former classmates created the “Medical Corps of the American Revolution.” He attained the rank of Major and was commended by General Washington upon leaving military service.

Between 1779 and 1800, he trained more than 50 students at “Medical Hall”, a substantial stone building on 450 acres which Archer had built.   There were between six and twelve students at a time, and while it was not a formal medical school, students were trained through a preceptorship. 

Medically, a preceptor is a practicing physician who gives personal instruction, training, and supervision to a medical student or young physician. This was the way most medical students learned their craft until the mid-1800’s when medical schools became more common.  

A story has it, that when a stranger asked Mrs. Archer if the doctor lived at Medical Hall, she responded, “He has his laundry done here.” So it is rather incredible that over the years, Archer and his wife had nine or ten children, six of whom, all boys, survived. Of the six, five chose to enter the field of medicine, the other became a lawyer.

In addition to Dr. Archer’s lectures, friends from his Philadelphia days coming through the area, stopped to lecture the students. These included notables including Dr. John Morgan, who was Dr. Archer’s mentor; Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was a classmate at Princeton; and Benjamin Franklin who talked about his recollections of the French medical system.

In 1808, Archer had a stroke, and was also suffering from rheumatism. In preparation for his death, he granted freedom to his slaves and left a prophecy that abolition of slavery would be coming, despite his understanding that the economy of the South was dependent on it.

Archer had a second stroke in 1810, which lead to his death a few weeks later. At 69 years old, he’d lived a long and full life, and left a lasting legacy.