John Greenwood was an American fifer and dentist, serving as George Washington's personal dentist.
Background
John Greenwood, the son of Isaac and Mary (Fans) Greenwood, was born May 17, 1760 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was an ivory-turner and mathematical instrument-maker; his grandfather, Isaac Greenwood, was at one time professor of mathematics at Harvard College.
Education
John’s education, as shown by his letters, did not progress far beyond the elementáis.
Career
He was early apprenticed to an uncle, Thales Greenwood, a cabinetmaker in Portland, Maine. On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War his uncle closed his shop and enlisted, while John entered the service as a fifer-boy. When news of the fight at Concord came to him, John took French leave and walked to Cambridge, hoping to get to his parents who were in Boston. He reached the army in time to see something of the battle of Bunker Hill, but failed to get through the lines into the city. His casual desertion seems not to have caused him trouble, for he became a fife-major and took part in a raid against the British lines.
In the capacity of a scout he was detailed to the Arnold expedition against Canada, returning to the main army in time to take part in the Trenton campaign. Shortly after that battle his enlistment expired and, tired of soldiering, he refused to reenter the service. He is said to have turned privateersman and may thus have secured the means that enabled him to study dental mechanics and establish himself as a dentist in New York City.
At all events he did so establish himself near the end of the year 1784 or the beginning of 1785. His father had dabbled in dentistry and his son reaped the benefit of his experience. Greenwood’s first known advertisement of his claim to professional skill appeared in the New York Daily Advertiser of Feb. 28, 1786. In 1806 he went to France to study the latest European dental practises and, on his return, advertised great improvements in methods and apparatus. He is credited with being the originator of the foot-power drill, of spiral springs which held the plates of artificial teeth in position, and the use of porcelain in the manufacture of such teeth. He took casts in beeswax and cut and modeled teeth from “sea-horse” (hippopotamus) ivory.
Among his other dexterities was that of replacing decayed teeth by live human molars, supplied by indigent individuals at a price. His most distinguished patient was President George Washington who relied largely upon Greenwood’s ability up to the day of his death. Two of the sets of artificial teeth which he made for Washington are still in existence and are remarkable examples of dental skill.
Greenwood’s health failed at the age of fifty-nine from too close application to work, and he died at his Park Row home, New York City, in 1819.
Achievements
Connections
On March 22, 1788, he had married Elizabeth, daughter of William and Jane (Coessart) Weaver.