The First American Doctor - John Archer
John Archer was the first person awarded a Medical Degree in North America.
After serving in the Revolutionary War he spent time as a US Congressman.
Most interestingly, he discovered a very strange condition. Let’s just say I almost titled this article ‘Twins with Separate Fathers.’
John Archer
John Archer was raised in Maryland and studied at West Nottingham Academy and the College of New Jersey.
This intelligent young man then joined the inaugural student body for the College of Philadelphia’s Medical School under the direction of William Shippen and John Morgan.
When he graduated, John Archer was the first person in North America to receive a medical degree.
Revolutionary
So what did Archer do with his medical degree?
He went to war!
OK, first he started a practice. Then he joined the Committee of Correspondence. Then he helped craft Maryland’s first constitution.
THEN he went to war.
Archer even served as an aide-de-camp to Anthony Wayne for a brief time.
Congressman
John Archer became a leader of Hartford County, Maryland and eventually played a role in correcting errors in the second United States Census.
He followed this up with his election to the House of Representatives where he sat as a Democratic-Republican for six years.
Though loyal to the Jefferson Administration, Archer did very little of note during his time in the Capitol.
Twins With Separate Dads
In the year before his death, John Archer made a very interesting medical contribution...he coined the term “heteropaternal superfecundation.”
Archer helped a woman give birth and noticed that her twins looked very different. One was white and one was black.
It turns out that this woman had rendezvoused with two men in a very short period of time. Apparently, in a very rare occurrence, they had both gotten her pregnant and she carried two babies with separate fathers at the same time.
Archer named the incident heteropaternal superfecundation and the first North American doctor found his way into the history books.
Want to read about other DOCTORS of the American Revolution?
Great! Check out these articles:
Richard Bayley Survives the NYC Doctors Riots
Founding Physicians - The Top 10 Doctors of the American Revolution
The Father of Clinical Medicine - Thomas Bond
Medicine was changing quickly at the turn of the 19th century.
‘Medicine and the American Revolution’ takes a look at some of the advances being made during this time.
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