The Medical Institution of Yale College, 1810-1885 †

The first significant fact about the Medical Institution of Yale College is that from its beginning it was part of a collegiate institution. Though for three quarters of a century it was neglected by the Corporation, ignored by its alumni, and misunderstood by the president and faculty of Yale College (for a time a part of its faculty), the connection between it and the College was never broken. Subtly, yet palpably, university status was a guarantee of standards in a period when few medical schools had them, and ultimately this proved to be the foundation on which a modern medical school was built at Yale.' In 1777, shortly before he accepted the Yale presidency, Ezra Stiles outlined a program of medical education in a plan for a university which he drafted for the Yale Corporation.! Though neither the state nor private persons came forward with the anticipated endowments, Stiles' hope was not wholly forgotten. A first firm step toward realizing it was taken in 1806 when Rev. Nathan Strong moved in the Yale Corporation that a "Medical Professor" be appointed. Such an appointment, it was quickly realized, presaged a medical department, and Strong's proposal was at once enlarged. There were several reasons why Yale should establish a medical school. For one, since there was no medical school in the state, students who wanted better training than apprenticeship with a local doctor afforded had to journey at least as far as New York or Boston for lectures. In the second place, a medical school would inevitably improve the standard of practice in Con-