RUSH, BENJAMIN


Meaning of RUSH, BENJAMIN in English

born Jan. 4, 1746, Byberry, near Philadelphia, Pa.

died April 19, 1813, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.

U.S. physician and political leader.

He attended the College of New Jersey at Princeton. As a doctor, he was a dogmatic theorist who proposed that all diseases are fevers caused by overstimulation of blood vessels, with a simple remedy

bloodletting and purges. He advocated humane treatment for insane patients; his idea that insanity often had physical causes marked a significant advance. He wrote the first chemistry textbook and the first psychiatry treatise in the U.S. An early and active American patriot and a member of the Continental Congress, Rush drafted a resolution urging independence and signed the Declaration of Independence.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.