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200 Years for Nation's First Public Medical School

Lynne Lamberg

JAMA. 2007;297:25-27.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Baltimore—In early December 1807, a mob opposed to dissection of human bodies razed the building where Baltimore surgeon John B. Davidge, MD, was teaching anatomy to aspiring physicians. The crowd carried off the cadaver.

Outrage over the rampage spurred introduction of a resolution in the Maryland General Assembly to establish a medical college in Baltimore. At the time, Maryland had fewer than 50 medically trained physicians. Delegates swiftly approved the bill.

A panoramic view of the University of Maryland's medical campus, including Davidge Hall, a pantheon-style domed building with eight white columns, completed in 1812. (Photo credit: Tom Jemski/University of Maryland)

On December 18, 1807, the Assembly chartered the College of Medicine of Maryland, now the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the nation's first public medical school (http://medschool.umaryland.edu). Only 4 existing US medical schools are older: those at the University of Pennsylvania (1765), Columbia . . . [Full Text of this Article]

17 000 PHYSICIANS