Moses Housepian

Moses Minas Housepian (Armenian: Մովսես Մինասի Հովսեփյան, 1876 – December 11, 1952) was a Syrian-born Armenian-American physician and humanitarian aid worker.

Moses Minas Housepian
Մովսես Մինասի Հովսեփյան
Housepian (1916)
Born1876
Kessab, Cilicia, Ottoman Empire
DiedDecember 11, 1952(1952-12-11) (aged 75–76)
New York City, New York
Other namesMovses Housepian
Alma materLong Island College Hospital
Known forphysician, humanitarian aid worker
SpouseMakrouhie Ashjian
ChildrenEdgar Housepian,
Marjorie Housepian Dobkin

Biography

Moses Minas Housepian was born in 1876 in Kessab, Cilicia, Ottoman Empire (now Syria).[1] He escaped the Hamidian massacres in his youth. He graduated from Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in 1905.[2]

He later headed a humanitarian medical mission in Russian Armenia from 1916–1918 treating refugees from the Armenian genocide.[2][3] He is credited with stopping the spread of a typhus epidemic and was known as the "Angel of Mercy", and as "Dr. Purgich" (English: "Dr. Saviour").[4]

Housepian was active in the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, whose chapter in New York City was posthumously named for him.[5] His wife, Makrouhie Housepian (née Ashjian), was active in the Armenian General Benevolent Union and other Armenian causes.[6] Moses and Makrouhie Housepian were the parents of Marjorie Housepian Dobkin and Edgar Housepian.[7]

Housepian died on December 11, 1952 in New York City.[1]

References
  1. New York State Journal of Medicine. Medical Society of the State of New York. 1953. p. 219.
  2. "Honoring NY-Area Early Writers and Intellectuals of the Mirror-Spectator". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
  3. "Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents' Footsteps". 16 January 2010.
  4. Dr. M. M. Housepian: A Tribute to His Memory (pamphlet published in 1954 by the Dr. M. M. Housepian Memorial Fund Committee and printed by the Gotchnag Press in New York City), p. 6: "During the First World War, news of the deportations and massacres in Turkey led Dr. Housepian to organize a volunteer group and leave for Armenia. There he found forty thousand refugees... A typhus epidemic had created urgent need for medical care... Archbishop Tirayre of [The Armenian Church's headquarters at] Etchmiadzin has observed that Dr. Housepian's efforts were directly responsible for checking the spread of the epidemic... many of his grateful patients referred to him as "Dr. Purgitch" (Dr. Savior).
  5. "In Memory of Dr. Edgar Housepian". 12 March 2015.
  6. "Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents' Footsteps". 16 January 2010.
  7. "In Memoriam: Dr. Edgar Housepian (1928-2014)". November 22, 2014.
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