William Thompson Briggs (1829-1894) biographical file

Collection

Identifier: EBL-0251

Staff Only

Abstract

This file includes several original photographs and a negative. It also includes several biographical sketches from both Tennessee histories and medical journals. It also includes Dr. Briggs' obituary.

Dates

1851 - 1894

Notes about Access to this Collection

All collections are subject to applicable VUMC privacy and confidentiality policies.

Reproduction Rights

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Historical or Biographical Note

Dr. Briggs graduated in medicine from Transylvania University in 1849. After moving to Nashville in 1851 to become demonstrator of anatomy at the University of Nashville, he became a partner of Dr. John M. Watson. In 1856 Dr. Briggs became an adjunct professor at the University of Nashville and continued there until 1865, when the Civil War suspended the University's operations. In 1868 Dr. Briggs became Professor of Surgery, and he continued in that position through the consolidation of the University of Nashville and Vanderbilt University. Dr. Briggs was one of the founders of the American Surgical Association and he became president of that organization in 1885. In 1890 Dr. Briggs became president of the American Medical Association.