Hosack, David [key], 1769–1835, American physician, surgeon, and author; for a time he was Samuel Bard's partner (see under Bard, John). He was an authority on the management of yellow fever, held medical posts at Columbia, and treated Hamilton after his duel with Burr. A mineralogist and a botanist as well, he founded (1801) the Elgin Botanic Garden, America's first public garden and an outstanding plant collection, at what is now the site of Rockefeller Center. Hosack also was a cofounder of a number of other New York cultural and scientific institutions, e.g., the New-York Historical Society and the city's first natural history museum. He wrote on medical and botanical subjects.
See study by V. Johnson (2018).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Medicine: Biographies
