Pepper, William

Pepper, William (1810–64) physician; born in Philadelphia. One of the elite group of American physicians who studied in France in the 1830s, he returned to Philadelphia to work at the Wills Eye Hospital (1839) and the Institute for Instruction of the Blind (1841) before joining the staff of the Pennsylvania Hospital (1842–58). A keen diagnostician, he went on to teach at the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania (1860–64).

---

Pepper, William (1843–98) physician; born in Philadelphia. His first case following graduation (1864) was his father, William Pepper Sr. (1810–64), a famous Philadelphia surgeon and diagnostician who died that autumn. The son began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in 1868 and continued teaching there until 1895. Along with his pioneer contributions to medicine—his description of malarial parasites, the role of bone marrow in pernicious anemia, and the modern treatment of tuberculosis—he is remembered for significant reforms in medical education. His efforts resulted in a remarkable number of American firsts from the University of Pennsylvania Medical College; the first teaching hospital affiliated with a university medical school (1874), the first nurses training school (1887), and the first laboratory of clinical medicine (1894). As provost of the University of Pennsylvania (1880–94), he led it through an extensive period of growth, effectively creating the modern University of Pennsylvania with its various graduate schools and programs such as extension courses. In addition to his teaching, administrative chores, and clinical practice, he wrote such books as Text-Book of the Theory and Practice of Medicine (1893–94) and still found time to give of his leadership and money toward the cultural development of Philadelphia.