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Squire Littell was born on December 9, 1803 in Burlington, New Jersey, United States, the son of Stephen and Susan (Gardner) Littell. Losing both parents very early in his childhood, he was adopted by his uncle Squier Littell of Butler, Ohio.
He received his early education in schools near Lebanon, Ohio. Association with his uncle, who had a large practice, inspired him to study medicine, and after a period of apprenticeship at home he went to Philadelphia in 1821 and continued his studies under the guidance of Joseph Parrish. He matriculated at the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1824, his graduating thesis being entitled "Theory of Inflammation. "
In 1920s Littell went to South America. On arriving in Buenos Aires he was amazed at the degree of learning possessed by the medical men, and though he missed the appointment he sought, he became by examination a licentiate of the Academy of Medicine. Four months' effort convinced him that Buenos Aires was not a suitable field for him and he embarked on a journey toward the United States, rounding the Horn and stopping at Valparaiso, Lima, and other Pacific ports. Thinking that Guayaquil, Ecuador, offered opportunities for one of his calling, he sojourned there for a while; but ultimately he continued his trip to Philadelphia by way of the Isthmus of Panama and Cartagena.
In Philadelphia he renewed his former acquaintances and contacts and engaged in general practice. He had long nourished an ambition to teach anatomy, but an impediment in his speech discouraged him. In Philadelphia his success was progressive. His medical activities for a long while were of a general character, but with the development of especial skill in ophthalmic surgery he came to be prominently identified with that specialty.
When Wills Hospital, founded for the treatment of the lame, the halt, and the blind, was organized in 1834, he became one of its first surgeons. He served in this capacity for some thirty years. He was also one the councilors of the College of Physicians. It is an interesting fact that, despite his skill as an ophthalmic surgeon, he learned the use of the ophthalmoscope late in life and with some difficulty.
His literary efforts were many and varied. He edited the Monthly Journal of Foreign Medicine (January 1828 - June 1829). From time to time he assisted his brother, Eliakim Littell, in the editing of the Museum of Foreign Literature and Science.
In 1837 he wrote A Manual of Diseases of the Eye which was favorably received abroad. He was active in all the organizations with which he was affiliated. From January 1839 to May 1841 edited The Banner of the Cross, one of the most influential of the church papers of that period. He also wrote poetry and arranged no less than twelve metrical translations of the medieval hymn "Dies Irae. " He succumbed at the age of eighty-three to what would now be designated as cardio-renal disease, his death occurring at Bay Head, New Jersey.
Littell was recognized for his service as a surgeon at Wills Hospital. He was instrumental in helping to make the ophthalmic work of the hospital internationally famous. He contributed over many years articles to various medical journals, particularly on ophthalmological subjects. He wrote many memoirs of distinguished members of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. His work "A Manual of Diseases of the Eye" was one of the earliest American books on this subject.
He was active in the affairs of the Episcopal Church.
He was elected a fellow of the College of Physicians in 1836.
About 1834 Littell married Mary Graff Emlin, the daughter of Caleb Emlin, by whom he had one son and one daughter. His wife died shortly after the birth of the second child.
