Harvey Medical College Explained

Harvey Medical College was a co-educational night school in Chicago, Illinois that offered training in various medical fields. ^[1]

Harvey Medical College was one of over 20 medical schools that opened in Chicago between 1890 and 1910, but unlike many of these it offered a real education and was not just a diploma mill.

Frances Dickinson served for periods as president, secretary and chair of ophthalmology at the college.^[2]

Notable alumni

African-American physician Isabella Garnett obtained a premedical certificate from Harvey Medical College in 1899.^[3]

Australian dentist Victor Ratten obtained a medical diploma from Harvey Medical College in 1907 and subsequently practised as a surgeon in Australia. His medical qualifications were the subject of a Tasmanian royal commission in 1918 following the objections of the local medical profession to his appointment as superintendent of Hobart General Hospital.^[4]

Sources

• Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 27, No. 22, 28 November 1896
• Chicatgo Encyclopedia article on Medical education

Notes and References

1. Robinson . Byron . The Controversy over the Harvey Medical College of Chicago . Journal of the American Medical Association . November 23, 1896 . 27 .
2. Book: Sperry, F. M.. A Group of distinguished physicians and surgeons of Chicago. Public domain. 1904. J.H. Beers. Frances Dickinson, M.D.. 150-154.
3. Book: Garnett Butler Talley, Isabella Maude. Marianne. Dreger. Patricia C.. Wishart . Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990. Schulz . Hast. 0253338522. 1990. Indiana University Press. 303.
4. News: Victor Richard Ratten (1878–1962). Gordon. Rimmer. Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1988. 11. Melbourne University Press.