Background
Seth Bishop was born on February 7, 1852, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States, the son of Lyman Bishop by his wife, Maria Probart.
Seth Bishop was born on February 7, 1852, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States, the son of Lyman Bishop by his wife, Maria Probart.
Seth obtained his early education at the Pooler Institute of his native town. He attended Beloit Academy (1872 - 1873) and passed two academic years at Beloit College (1873 - 1875), but was forced to leave college "on account of his eyes" and did not obtain an academic degree. Despite his eyes he evidently made rapid progress in medical work, for he obtained his M. D. from Northwestern University in 1876. He also studied medicine for a short time at New York University, and supported himself during his early years of practise by learning the printer's trade.
Though at first a general practitioner, Bishop later limited his work to the diseases of the ear, nose, and throat. He was later appointed to the chair of otology, rhinology, and laryngology at Loyola University School of Medicine, and he held a similar position at the Chicago Post-Graduate Medical School. He became surgeon to the Jefferson Park Hospital, the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, and consulting surgeon to several other religious institutions.
From 1912 until his death, Bishop was a member of the board of contributing editors of the New York Medical Times. He was also an early editor of the Illinois Medical Bulletin, which ran from 1902 to 1908.
Seth Bishop's chief contributions to medicine were his two well-illustrated textbooks, Diseases of the Ear, Nose and Throat and Their Accessory Cavities; a Condensed Textbook (1897), and The Ear and Its Diseases, a Textbook for Students and Physicians (1906). Both these books were based upon the case records of an active practise extending over twenty-five years. In 1887 Bishop was awarded first prize by the United States Hayfever Association for an essay upon the etiology and treatment of hayfever.
(The second edition of this work, and the several reprints...)
Bishop was married March 23, 1885, to Jessie A. Button.
