Mark the nation’s semiquincentennial by exploring 250 years of Philadelphia’s impact on health and healing in the United States in our new special exhibition!
Creating a City of Medicinehighlights Philadelphia’s significant role in the evolution of how Americans have learned, practiced, taught, and experienced medicine, as well as the College’s unique role at the intersection of medical history, public health, and science.
The first colonial hospital was founded in Philadelphia in 1751, followed by the first medical school in 1765. By 1776, Philadelphia was the largest city in the colonies. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia was founded in 1787 by the city’s most prominent physicians and became a natural site for collaboration and leadership in developing the city’s public health infrastructure, disseminating research, and publishing important medical books.
Creating a City of Medicine takes visitors on a journey that examines the development of medical education, technological innovation, and community-based healing practices in Philadelphia. From a catastrophic yellow fever outbreak in the nation's early years that divided physicians and spurred mutual aid response to the rise of “pathological anatomy,” homeopathy, and the “bacterial revolution,” the exhibition delves into several noteworthy periods of medical history.
This exhibition features well-known Philadelphia leaders and College Fellows, such as Benjamin Rush, as well as lesser-known figures, including Black community leaders Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. It also highlights the women and institutions that transformed medical education, including The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the world’s first degree-granting women’s medical school. These lesser-known stories will enrich visitors’ understanding of the vital role Philadelphia played in American medicine and medical education during the early American period.
To dive deeper into the fascinating world of early American medicine in Philadelphia, be sure to save the date for our next Mütter Meet & Geek on Thursday, July 9.
Thanks to the generosity of the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation, we are thrilled to offer discounted admission to medical, nursing, and public health students. Please use promo code MEDSTUDY250 for $15 off a timed admission ticket. If you qualify, make sure to select the “College Student” level ticket.
Admission to this exhibition is included with your Mütter Museum ticket.
Creating a City of Medicine is generously funded by the Benjamin and Mary Siddons Measey Foundation.