James Rosebrugh Leaming Explained

James Rosebrugh Leaming, M.D. (February 25, 1820 – December 5, 1892), was a preeminent physician specializing in heart and lung diseases, author and teacher.[1] [2]

Life

James Rosebrugh Leaming was born in Groveland, New York on February 25, 1820, eldest child of William Leaming and Jane Rosebrugh, granddaughter of Revolutionary war Chaplain Rev. John Rosbrugh.[3] He attended Temple Hill Academy in Geneseo, New York, after which he apprenticed with Drs. Edward and Walter Lauderdale.[4] In 1847 he attended the University of the City of New York, now New York University and received the degree of M.D. in 1849.[2]

Leaming took up residency in New York City where he became well known as a teacher, author, and physician. He specialized in diseases of the heart and lungs and became a renowned authority on the subject.[5] Early in his career his lectures on plural pathology and the interpleural origin of rales initially met with a storm of opposition; but within his lifetime he saw these enjoy widespread acceptance in the medical community.[6]

Leaming was Professor Emeritus both of the Woman's Medical College (University of the City of New York) and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University where he also had served as the first President.[2] He was a member of the New York Academy of Medicine, The New York County Medical Society, The New York State Medical Society, The Pathological Society, and the American Medical Association.[3]

Shortly before his death he was honored by an assembly of distinguished guests in the drawing-room of his home, among whom was then President-elect Grover Cleveland.[7] He died of tuberculosis at home in New York City on December 5, 1892.[2]

Family

Leaming married first, in January 1853, to Jane Helen Cheesman, daughter of Rev. Lewis Cheesman, D.D., of Philadelphia.[3] they had one son, Edward Leaming, who went on to become a physician in New York city like his father.[8] She died June 27, 1865[9] In November 1868 he married Kathryn Lawton Strobel, daughter of Rev. W.D. Strobel, D.D., of Rhinebeck, NY;[3] they had one daughter, Abby Anna Leaming.[2] His third marriage was to Susan Emilia Nelson, daughter of John G. Nelson, who survived him.[2] [10]

Works

Notes and References

  1. James Joseph Walsh, History of Medicine in New York, Vol. I (North America Society, Inc., New York, 1919), p. 267
  2. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/12/06/104102295.pdf "Obituary; James Rosebrugh Leaming"
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=hlvCXW6S1sEC&pg=PA295 The Physicians and Surgeons of The United States
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=V-wCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA68 The Transactions of the New York Academy of Medicine
  5. The Transactions of the New York Academy of Medicine, Second Series, Vol. X (The New York Academy of Medicine, 1894), pp. 69–71
  6. Howard A. Kelly, M.D., A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography from 1610 to 1910, Vol. II (W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia & London, 1912), p. 87
  7. The Transactions of the New York Academy of Medicine, Second Series, Vol. X (The New York Academy of Medicine, 1894), p. 77
  8. Samuel Chessman, Genealogy of the Chesman Family In the United States, From 1713 to 1893 (1893), p. 52
  9. Medical and Surgical Reporter; A Weekly Journal, ed. S.W. Butler, M.D., Vol XIII (Alfred Martien, Philadelphia, July 1865 – January 1866), p. 32
  10. https://books.google.com/books?id=q3wBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA204 Social Register, New York, 1896