Frank Hastings Hamilton was a noted American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 surgeon

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

, born at Wilmington

Wilmington, Vermont

Wilmington is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,225 at the 2000 census.-History:The town was chartered in 1751 by Benning Wentworth, colonial governor of New Hampshire. It was named in honor of Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington...

, Vt.

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

Hamilton was the son of Calvin and Lucinda (Hastings) Hamilton. Through his mother, he was a descendant of Thomas Hastings

Thomas Hastings (colonist)

Thomas Hastings was a prominent English immigrant to New England, one of the approximately 20,000 immigrants who came as part of the Great Migration. A Deacon of the church, among his many public offices he served on the Committee of Colony Assessments in 1640 and as Deputy for Watertown to the...

 who came from the East Anglia

East Anglia

East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...

 region of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

 in 1634. Hamilton graduated from Union College

Union College

Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...

 in 1830 and received the degree of M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 degree at the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 in 1835.

After teaching in various colleges, he became in 1861 professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College

New York University School of Medicine

The New York University School of Medicine is one of the graduate schools of New York University. Founded in 1841 as the University Medical College, the NYU School of Medicine is one of the foremost medical schools in the United States....

. He was a military surgeon for two years in the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and was appointed medical inspector with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1863. Among the many positions of honor and trust which he held was the presidency of the New York Society of Medical Jurisprudence.

He served as consulting surgeon to various hospitals and asylums and became widely known as an authority on surgery, his three large works having a recognized place in the literature of medical science. They are:

• Treatise on Fractures and Dislocations (1860)
• Practical Treatise on Military Surgery (1861)
• The Principles and Practice of Surgery (1872)

In his later years, his place in history was secured by a tragic event. "Almost immediately after President Garfield was shot in 1881, Mrs. Garfield insisted upon sending for Dr. Hamilton. He was telegraphed for, and a special train being provided him, he went directly to the President's bedside. Until the President died, Dr. Hamilton in connection with Drs. Bliss and Agnew was almost constantly in attendance."

Terms

• Hamilton's bandage — a compound bandage for the lower jaw, composed of a leather string with straps of linen webbing.
• Hamilton's pseudophlegmon — a circumscribed swelling which may become red and indurated, but never suppurates.
• Hamilton's test — When the shoulder joint is luxated, a rule or straight rod applied to the humerus
  Humerus
  The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
  
   can be made to touch the outer condyle and the acromion at the same time.

Dorland's Medical Dictionary (1938)