John Miller Turpin Finney

John Miller Turpin Finney (June 20, 1863 – May 30, 1942) was an American surgeon and academic who also served as a brigadier general during World War I. He is best remembered for serving as the first president of the American College of Surgeons.

John Miller Turpin Finney
Born(1863-06-20)June 20, 1863
Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 1942(1942-05-30) (aged 78)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Buried
Churchville Presbyterian Church
Churchville, Maryland, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States United States
Service/branchUnited States Army seal United States Army
Years of service1898–19??
Rank Brigadier general
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsOrder of the Crown
Legion of Honour
Spouse(s)
Mary Elizabeth Gross
​
​
(m. 1892)​
Children4
Signature

Biography

Finney was born on June 20, 1863, on a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi. His father, Ebenezer Dickey Finney, was a Presbyterian minister, and his mother, Annie Parker Finney, died shortly after his birth.[1] His grandfather William D. Finney was pastor of Churchville Presbyterian Church in Churchville, Maryland.[2] Finney attended Princeton University and graduated on his twenty-first birthday. He then attended and graduated from Harvard Medical School. he played on the football teams of both schools.

After interning at Massachusetts General Hospital, Finney joined the Johns Hopkins University in 1889[3] as a member of its surgical staff. He worked alongside William Stewart Halsted, became a professor at the university, and started the school's dispensary. He had a good reputation and received patients from across the United States and even had house calls to the White House. Upon Woodrow Wilson's resignation as Princeton University's president in 1911, the school's trustees unanimously chose Finney to succeed him, though Finney declined the appointment.[1][4] In May 1913, he became the first president of the American College of Surgeons and served in that position for three years.[1][5][6]

Finney had been commissioned as a major in the Maryland Army National Guard. During World War I, he commanded the Johns-Hopkins Medical Unit, Base Hospital Number Eighteen while at the rank of colonel. Upon his promotion to brigadier general on October 1, 1918, he became the American Expeditionary Forces' chief consultant in surgery. His method for treating duodenal ulcers became the standard practice.[1] For his efforts, he received the Order of the Crown from Belgium and the Legion of Honour from France.[3]

Finney wrote A Surgeon's Life, published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, in 1940.[7]

Personal life
Grave of Finney and his wife in Churchville Presbyterian Church cemetery

Finney married Mary Elizabeth Gross in 1892, and they had four children together.[1] He was "a very religious man" and was active in the Presbyterian Church.[5]

He died on May 30, 1942.[1][8] He was buried at Churchville Presbyterian Church in Churchville, Maryland.[2]

References
  1. Davis 1998, p. 128.
  2. "Finney Rites To Be Held At 4 P.M. Today". The Baltimore Sun. June 1, 1942. p. 22. Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  3. Marquis Who's Who 1975, p. 172.
  4. "FINNEY NOT FOR PRINCETON.; Surgeon Refuses Offer of Presidency -- Work Not Done in Baltimore". The New York Times. November 25, 1911. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  5. https://www.facs.org/~/media/files/archives/cameron2008.ashx
  6. Cameron, John L. (March 2009). "John Miller Turpin Finney: The First President of the American College of Surgeons". Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 208 (3): 327–332. doi:10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2008.11.005. PMID 19317992.
  7. Finney, John Miller Turpin. A Surgeon's Life: The Autobiography of J.M.T. Finney. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1940. OCLC 525715
  8. Howell, William H. (1942). "John Miller Turpin Finney: In Memoriam". Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 18 (8): 551–555. PMC 1933869.

Bibliography
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