Benjamin Rush - Early Life and Career

Early Life and Career

Rush was born to John and Susanna Harvey Rush on January 4, 1746 (December 24, 1745 O.S.). The family which included seven children lived on a plantation in the Township of Byberry in Philadelphia County, which was then about 14 miles outside Philadelphia (the township was incorporated into Philadelphia in 1854 and now remains one of its neighborhoods). Rush's father died when he was six, leaving his mother to care for the large family, At the age of eight, he was sent to live with an aunt and uncle, to receive a proper education. He attended an academy at Nottingham, run by the Rev. Samuel Finley, which would later become West Nottingham Academy.

In 1760, at age 15, he completed the five-year program earning him a Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). From 1761-1766 he apprenticed under Dr. John Redman in Philadelphia. Redman encouraged him to further his studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he earned a medical degree from 1766-1768. While in Great Britain practicing medicine, he learned French, Italian, and Spanish. Returning to the Colonies in 1769 (age 24), Rush opened a medical practice in Philadelphia and became Professor of Chemistry at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania). Rush published the first American textbook on chemistry, several volumes on medical student education, and wrote influential patriotic essays.