John Peter Mettauer was an American physician and surgeon.
Background
John Peter Mettauer was the son of Francis Joseph Mettauer, an Alsatian surgeon, who came to America under Rochambeau and after the Revolution settled in Prince Edward County, Virginia, near Farmville. He married Jemimah Gaulding, probably née Crump. Their son, John Peter, born in Prince Edward County.
Education
Mettauer attended the grammar school of Hampden-Sidney and in 1805 entered Hampden-Sidney College, but left before graduating and in 1807 entered the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. There he heard the last lecture of the great Dr. Shippen and was a pupil of Rush, Wistar, and Physick. He received the degree of M. D. in 1809, and returned to Virginia to practise.
Career
During the War of 1812, Mettauer lived in Norfolk, and for one term, 1835-36, he was professor of surgery at Washington Medical College, Baltimore; but except for these brief intervals his long medical career was carried on entirely in his native county. A scholarly 3, 000-page manuscript work on surgery, in existence as late as 1905, is now lost. Most of his articles were signed "John Peter Mettauer, M. D. , LL. D. , of Virginia, " but the source of the LL. D. is not known. In the last week of his life, in his eighty-eighth year, he performed three successful operations: for cataract, stone, and amputation of the breast. He died of pneumonia and was buried in the College Church Cemetery at Hampden-Sidney.
Achievements
Views
Articles by Mettauer, appearing in nearly every medical journal in the country, prove that his interests extended beyond surgery. He wrote frequently on puerperal fever, and is said to have first suggested the use of iodine in scrofula. His paper on Continued Fever in Middle Southern Virginia from 1816 to 1829 (1843) shows that he early recognized typhoid fever as a distinct disease.
Personality
Tall and austere, never attending either social or religious functions, Mettauer was eccentric but respected. He wore on all occasions, even while at meals and while operating, a high stovepipe hat. His daughter said she had never seen him without it, and he left instructions that he be buried in it.
Quotes from others about the person
Sims called Mettauer one of two men who "stand out in bold relief amongst those who have devoted some time to this subject, " the other being the famous French surgeon, Jobert.
Connections
In spite of his peculiarities, four women married him: Mary Woodard, of Norfolk, by whom he had two sons; Margaret Carter, of Prince Edward County, April 14, 1825; Louisa Mansfield, of Connecticut, 1833, who died in 1835; Mary E. Dyson, of Nottoway County, Virginia. He had at least ten children; three of his sons studied medicine.