Background
Left no known record of his ancestry though his obituary places his birth in "North Britain. "
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Peter Middleton
Edit ProfileEducation
Middleton's first appearance is on the records of the University of St. Andrews, February 27, 1752, when Prof. Thomas Simson represented to the university that "one Peter Middleton, a practitioner of physics, had been with him, and desired the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. " After an examination, "the University, being satisfied with his performances, " conferred the degree on him.
Career
Although the date usually given is 1750, it seems probable that it was in 1752 or later when Middleton and Dr. John Bard made in New York one of the first dissections of a human body for purposes of medical instruction on record in America. It was not long before Middleton was one of the chief physicians of New York, with an extensive and remunerative practice among the rich, and a large gratuitous practice among the poor. During the French war he had the rank of surgeon-general of the provincial forces in the Crown Point expedition, and in 1770, he received a grant of five thousand acres of land on the Susquehanna. On August 14, 1767, letters were presented to the governors of King's College from Middleton and five other New York physicians, proposing "to institute a Medical School within this College for instructing Pupils in the most useful and necessary Branches of Medicine, " and offering to give a course of lectures the following winter. The governors thereupon established the medical school and appointed the six physicians to professorships, Middleton securing the chair of physiology and pathology, to which materia medica was added in 1770. The school was opened November 2, 1767, with "a very elegant and learned Discourse" delivered by Middleton in the college hall in the presence of the governor of the province and other notables. The discourse was published in 1769 with the title A Medical Discourse, or a Historical Inquiry into the Ancient and Present State of Medicine; it is an able work, displaying considerable familiarity with medical history, but gives little on the American situation. His only other known publication is a letter on the croup to Dr. Richard Bayley. Middleton became a governor of King's College, November 11, 1773 (manuscript minutes). In June 1771, a charter was granted to the New York Hospital and his name headed the list of incorporators. In April 1776, "from prudential motives, " sailed suddenly for Bermuda, returning to New York when the British occupied the city. The doctor left a large estate and a month after his death his "large valuable library" was sold at auction.
Achievements
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In 1756, Middleton was one of the founders of the St. Andrew's Society of New York City, and from 1767 to 1770 its president; he was also a prominent Freemason, holding the office of deputy grand-master of the province under Sir John Johnson. He was one of the first physicians elected to the staff in 1774, but the destruction of the building by fire, and the war postponed the opening of the hospital until ten years after his death.
Connections
Middleton married Susannah, daughter of Richard Nicholls and widow of John Burges of New York, merchant. She died December 6, 1771. They had one child, Susannah Margaret Middleton.
