Alfred Bennison Atherton

Alfred Bennison Atherton (January 22, 1843  – March 7, 1921) [1] was an eminent Canadian surgeon, gynaecologist and obstetrician who made historical contributions to the pathology and surgery of hernia. [2]

Alfred Bennison Atherton

Early years

Atherton was born in Queensbury Parish, New Brunswick, the son of John Atherton (1800-1881) [3] and Charlotte Bennison (1811-1900).

Education

His early education was received at public schools.[4] He chose medicine and pursued his studies under the direction of Hiram Dow of Fredericton.[5] He graduated with a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick in 1862,[6] and subsequently studied in the United States, where he earned his MD from Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1866.

He travelled to the United Kingdom for further studies Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in Edinburgh. He received a diploma of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in May 1867,[7] also visiting hospitals in London. [8]

Memberships

He returned to Canada and became a member of the senate of the University of New Brunswick from 1867 to 1884, and a member of the Medical Council of New Brunswick from 1881 to 1884. [9]

Career

He was a medical practitioner in Canada and the United States, initially at Victoria Cottage Hospital [10] in New Brunswick, followed by Ontario in 1887. He became a lecturer on the principles of surgery at the Women's College Hospital, Toronto, and surgeon to St. John's Hospital for Women, Toronto.

He also held the positions of vice president of the Canadian Medical Association and president of the Toronto Medical Society.

He attended the Medical Faculty of Trinity College, Toronto in 1891.

Trinity Medical College, Toronto

At the age of 73, he travelled to California, accompanied by his wife in 1916. He settled permanently and received his Californian medical practitioner licence in 1918.

Medical publications

In 1903, whilst surgeon at Victoria Public Hospital, Fredericton, he published a report on Retroperitoneal Hernia and acute strangulation of a knuckle of ileum in a pericael pouch.[11]

Canadian Politics

He was also a political figure in Fredericton. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1911 Canadian Federal Election, running against Oswald Smith Crockett in the York electoral district.

Personal

He was born into a Methodist family. He married Sarah Wiley (1845  – 1934) in Fredericton on May 20, 1868. In the 1891 census they were both living at St James Ward, Toronto. They had no children.

Writer

Atherton was a contributor to American Medical Biographies. Articles on notable and eminent physicians included Le Baron Botsford (1812  – 1888)[12] and William Bayard (1814 – 1907).[13]

Legacy

Atherton is listed in the Directory of Deceased American Physicians (1804-1929).

Death

He continued working into his senior years and is mentioned in the New York Medical Journal having attended a function one month before he died.[14]

He died on March 7, 1921 at the age of 78, in San Diego, California. He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in San Diego.[15] His wife, Sarah continued to reside in San Diego until her death on December 18, 1934.

Biography
  • Irvine, W H (1926) “Alfred Bennison Atherton”[16]
  • The Canadian Album Volume 1: Men of Canada. Edn. 1891. Author: Rev. William Cochrane. [17][18]

Ancestry

He is a direct descendant of James Atherton,[19][20] one of the First Settlers of New England; who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in the 1630s. His direct ancestor, Benjamin Atherton (1736-1816) was from Colonial Massachusetts and settled in Maugerville, New Brunswick in 1765. His notable relatives include:

  • Lizzie Aiken, a Union Army Civil War nurse
  • Alfred Atherton (1921–2002), former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
  • Blaylock Atherton, 20th century New Hampshire politician
  • Charles G. Atherton , an American politician and lawyer from New Hampshire
  • Charles Humphrey Atherton, an American Federalist politician, banker and a distinguished attorney from New Hampshire.
  • Cornelius Atherton, an iron manufacturer, gunmaker for the American Revolutionary War and an inventor
  • Faxon Atherton, businessman, trader and landowner in Chile; and then in San Mateo County, California
  • George Washington Atherton, president of the Pennsylvania State University from 1882 until his death in 1906
  • Henry B. Atherton, a soldier in the American Civil War from Vermont, a lawyer and state legislator for New Hampshire during the late 19th century.
  • Henry F. Atherton, American business executive
  • John Carlton Atherton, 20th century artist (third cousin)
  • Joshua Atherton, a lawyer and early anti-slavery campaigner in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
  • Peter Atherton (died 1764), 18th century leader in Massachusetts, and uncle and surrogate father to his ancestor Benjamin Atherton.
  • Simon Atherton, an American Shaker, who became highly successful on behalf of his own community, in selling herbs in Boston
  • Sumner Atherton, a US Naval Reserve pilot who was awarded, as a lieutenant, the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during World War II
  • Thomas H. Atherton, an American architect. He studied at Princeton and MIT. He co-designed the Pennsylvania WWI war memorial in France
  • Seth Boyden, inventor
  • Uriah Atherton Boyden, inventor from Foxborough, Massachusetts best known for the development of the Boyden Turbine

References
  1. "Atherton One Name Study entry for Alfred B. Atherton".
  2. "Atherton, Alfred Bennison Biography".
  3. "Atherton One Name Study Entry for John Atherton".
  4. "Alfred Atherton essay on the Pilgrim Fathers, aged 16, June 8, 1859". Fredericton Head Quarters.
  5. "Catalog of the Officers and Students of the University in Cambridge 1862-63". Harvard University.
  6. Dalhousie University Archives. "Alfred B. Atherton's obstetrics notebook" (PDF).
  7. "Alfred B. Atherton graduation in Scotland, May 15". Harbour Grace Standard , May 15. 1867.
  8. "Alfred B. Atherton. Dalhousie University Archives: Reference code: MS-13-45, SF Box 68, Folder 6".
  9. "A B Atherton was member of the senate of the University of New Brunswick from 1867-1884, and a member of the Medical Council of New Brunswick".
  10. "Victoria Cottage Hospital opened in 1887, become the Victoria Public Hospital when it was incorporated in 1898".
  11. "Annals of Surgery 1903 Jun ; 37(6): 883-885 - Alfred Bennison Atherton - Canadian Physician".
  12. "American Medical Biographies/Botsford, LeBaron by Alfred B. Atherton".
  13. "American Medical Biographies/ Bayard, William by Alfred B. Atherton)".
  14. "New York Medical Journal, Volume 113". 1921.
  15. Alfred Bennison Atherton at Find a Grave
  16. Irvine, W H (1926). "Alfred Bennison Atherton".
  17. Cochrane, Rev. William (1891). "The Canadian Album Volume 1: Men of Canada".
  18. "Public Domain Image of Alfred Bennison Atherton". p. 27.
  19. "James Atherton entry on the Atherton ONS".
  20. "James Atherton of Dorchester settled in Lancaster Massachusetts in 1654".
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