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THE JOHN STEARNS AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN MEDICINE* JEREMIAH A. BARONDESS, M.D. President The New York Academy of Medicine New York, New York
D R. JOHN STEARNS, the Founding President of The New York Academy of Medicine, was born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts on May 16, 1770. He received his baccalaureate education at Yale, and was graduated with honors in 1789. He studied medicine for the next three years as an apprentice to Dr. Erastus Sergeant in Stockbridge, and then attended the lectures of Shippen, Wistar, Rush, and others at the University of Pennsylvania, and made rounds with them at Pennsylvania Hospital. In 1793 he began the practice of medicine in Saratoga County, and in 1806 and 1807 he was one of three individuals instrumental in the formation of The Medical Society of the State of New York, of which he was elected the first secretary. He published steadily on clinical topics and was a powerful early advocate of the educational functions of medical societies. Beginning in 1810 he served as a state senator for four years, and in that capacity worked closely with DeWitt Clinton, Martin Van Buren, and others. In 1812 The Medical Society of the state elected him an honorary member, and the Regents of The University of the State of New York conferred upon him the honorary M.D. In 1819 he was elected president of The Medical Society of the State of New York, and in his Presidential Address considered "the influence of the mind upon the body and the production and cure of diseases." In 1819 he moved to New York City, largely at the urging of DeWitt Clinton, who had been a patient of his in Albany. He conducted a series of investigations during the epidemic of yellow fever of 1819 and 1820, noting especially the disappearance of the disease with the onset of cold weather, and in 1823 published a consideration of difficulties in general progress of medical science up to that time; he considered, among the major features interfering with progress in medicine, the multiplicity of books, the excessively hasty introduction of new systems of physic, an anxious avidity for *Presented at the Stated Meeting of the New York Academy of Medicine May 30, 1991.
Vol. 67, No. 6, November-December 1991
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JA. BARONDESS J.A.
new remedies, and "the fashionable practice of simplifying systems and remedies." Early in his career he wrote on the use of ergot as a stimulant of uterine contraction, and was viewed as the person who had done more than any other to define the pharmacology of the drug. Upon the organization of The New York Academy of Medicine in 1846 he was elected its first president, and held office in 1847. The following year he died of an infected cut on his hand, with a clinical diagnosis of erysipelas. John Stearns exemplified the inquiring mind, devotion to the highest standards of medical practice, and a deep understanding of the importance of continuing education of physicians. It is altogether fitting that the Academy should name its important new award for distinguished lifetime achievement in medicine for this remarkable physician. In honoring Lewis Thomas with the presentation of the first John Stearns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine the Academy succeeds in generating three honors at one stroke: first, of course, it honors Dr. Thomas, one of the outstanding medical figures of our time; second, it honors the memory of John Stearns, an early exemplar of the range of interests, the level of expertise, and the degree of effectiveness that have characterized Dr. Thomas' career as well; and finally, in making this Award the Academy honors itself through its association with both Dr. Thomas and Dr. Steams.
Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med.
THE JOHN STEARNS AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN MEDICINE* JEREMIAH A. BARONDESS, M.D. President The New York Academy of Medicine New York, New York
D R. JOHN STEARNS, the Founding President of The New York Academy of Medicine, was born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts on May 16, 1770. He received his baccalaureate education at Yale, and was graduated with honors in 1789. He studied medicine for the next three years as an apprentice to Dr. Erastus Sergeant in Stockbridge, and then attended the lectures of Shippen, Wistar, Rush, and others at the University of Pennsylvania, and made rounds with them at Pennsylvania Hospital. In 1793 he began the practice of medicine in Saratoga County, and in 1806 and 1807 he was one of three individuals instrumental in the formation of The Medical Society of the State of New York, of which he was elected the first secretary. He published steadily on clinical topics and was a powerful early advocate of the educational functions of medical societies. Beginning in 1810 he served as a state senator for four years, and in that capacity worked closely with DeWitt Clinton, Martin Van Buren, and others. In 1812 The Medical Society of the state elected him an honorary member, and the Regents of The University of the State of New York conferred upon him the honorary M.D. In 1819 he was elected president of The Medical Society of the State of New York, and in his Presidential Address considered "the influence of the mind upon the body and the production and cure of diseases." In 1819 he moved to New York City, largely at the urging of DeWitt Clinton, who had been a patient of his in Albany. He conducted a series of investigations during the epidemic of yellow fever of 1819 and 1820, noting especially the disappearance of the disease with the onset of cold weather, and in 1823 published a consideration of difficulties in general progress of medical science up to that time; he considered, among the major features interfering with progress in medicine, the multiplicity of books, the excessively hasty introduction of new systems of physic, an anxious avidity for *Presented at the Stated Meeting of the New York Academy of Medicine May 30, 1991.
Vol. 67, No. 6, November-December 1991
630
JA. BARONDESS J.A.
new remedies, and "the fashionable practice of simplifying systems and remedies." Early in his career he wrote on the use of ergot as a stimulant of uterine contraction, and was viewed as the person who had done more than any other to define the pharmacology of the drug. Upon the organization of The New York Academy of Medicine in 1846 he was elected its first president, and held office in 1847. The following year he died of an infected cut on his hand, with a clinical diagnosis of erysipelas. John Stearns exemplified the inquiring mind, devotion to the highest standards of medical practice, and a deep understanding of the importance of continuing education of physicians. It is altogether fitting that the Academy should name its important new award for distinguished lifetime achievement in medicine for this remarkable physician. In honoring Lewis Thomas with the presentation of the first John Stearns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine the Academy succeeds in generating three honors at one stroke: first, of course, it honors Dr. Thomas, one of the outstanding medical figures of our time; second, it honors the memory of John Stearns, an early exemplar of the range of interests, the level of expertise, and the degree of effectiveness that have characterized Dr. Thomas' career as well; and finally, in making this Award the Academy honors itself through its association with both Dr. Thomas and Dr. Steams.
Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med.
