Background
William Bonwill was born on October 4, 1833. He was the eldest son of Dr. William Moore Bonwill, descendant of an old Huguenot family of Camden, Delaware, and of his wife, Louisa Mason (Baggs) Bonwill.
William Bonwill was born on October 4, 1833. He was the eldest son of Dr. William Moore Bonwill, descendant of an old Huguenot family of Camden, Delaware, and of his wife, Louisa Mason (Baggs) Bonwill.
William Bonwill attended an academy in Middletown, Delaware, and took private instruction in dentistry with Dr. Samuel W. Neall of Camden, New Jersey. This was supplemented by studies under Dr. Chapin A. Harris and Dr. A. A. Blandy of Baltimore. He then finished with a degree in dentistry the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery and then studied medicine at the Jefferson Medical College.
In October 1854 Willam Bonwill began the practise of dentistry in Dover, Delaware. While he was on a visit to Philadelphia, February 28, 1867, his attention was attracted by the tapping of a telegraph sounder in the old Continental Hotel. Then and there the idea of the electro-magnetic mallet was born. This, when perfected, became an important factor in the development of "contour" filling operations. In his earlier years Bonwill had been attracted by Dr. Arthur's idea of "permanent separations" for the prevention of tooth decay, and he invented the diamond drill for forming the separations without disfiguring the teeth. With the introduction of the electro-magnetic mallet his views changed. It was patented in 1873 and in 1875 the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia awarded him the "Cresson" gold medal of the first class for its invention. His regard for contour work became even more decided after he brought out his automatic engine-mallet. Thereupon he became as bitter an opponent of the old non-cohesive gold filling as he had before been its ardent advocate. The engine-mallet he esteemed more highly than the electro-magnetic, a preference probably due in some degree to bitterness engendered by the need for modification of the earlier appliance. He could conceive a stupendous, epoch-making mechanical idea and develop it to the point of practicality in his hands, but almost invariably his inventions had to be carried to their final perfection by others. His teeming brain would be busy with a new idea long before the mechanical details of an invention could be worked out.
Bonwill was a wonderful operator. It is doubtful if the combination of speed and skill with which he habitually worked has ever been surpassed. When at the height of his career as a gold operator he was attracted to amalgam work. After many experiments he devised an alloy which satisfied his requirements, and in its use he became as skilled as with gold. He was equally distinguished as a prosthetic dentist. His method of selecting porcelain teeth for artificial dentures was original. Instead of choosing them by the set he picked them individually, sometimes breaking up several sets in order to get what he wanted. It cannot be denied that the sets so selected, as mounted by him, were remarkably artistic.
Bonwill was the first to break away from the "barn-door hinge" articulator with which dentists had worked up to that time; the first to devise an anatomical articulator, with which to imitate the various movements of the mandible in mastication. This was founded on his belief in the geometrical construction of the human mandible. This postulate of geometrical construction, he believed, contained a basal truth, which, carried to its logical sequence, demonstrated the negation of the doctrine of organic evolution; and he wrote several papers in support of his idea.
As a teacher Bonwill was interesting and instructive, welcoming freely all who sought his help. As a writer, he was discursive. His bubbling thoughts ran away with him, often leading him into new paths before the old was cleared of the jungle. This oftentimes obscured his ideas to those who had not the patience to dig out their meaning. Notwithstanding his idiosyncrasies, his great abilities were honored at home and abroad. Russian, Dutch, German, Spanish, and French dental societies bestowed honors and decorations upon him. Some of his most notable papers were as follows: "The Electro-Magnetic Mallet" (1874); "The Air as an Anesthetic" (1875); "The Salvation of the Human Teeth" (1881); "Plastic Gold Alloys" (1882); "Geometrical and Mechanical Laws of Articulation" (1885); "Regulators and Methods of Correcting Irregularities" (1887); "New Method of Clasped Plates vs. Movable or Unmovable Bridge-Work" (1890); "What Has Dentistry to Demonstrate Against the Hypothesis of Organic Evolution?" (1893).
William Bonwill was engaged in the development of dentistry throughout his life. He originated the use of Japanese bibulous paper in the introduction of amalgam fillings; invented a double-disk device for reducing and pointing root-canal broaches, vulcanite and carborundum disks, a cervical matrix, and numerous attachments for the dental and surgical engines, several of which are still largely used. He invented two forms of dental engines, the last of which, of the cord type, became the progenitor of the Bonwill Surgical Engine. Outside of the dental field Bonwill made a number of inventions: improvements in grain reapers, kerosene lamps, shoe fasteners; was at work on an aerial trolley car; and claimed to have invented the "Giffard" injector four years before it was brought out in France.
Physically Bonwill was slightly above average height, and very slender, apparently unable to cope with the tremendous tasks he set for himself; but he was a tireless worker. It was his habit to place pad, pencil, and a night light near his bed that he might not lose any inspiration that came to him during the night. Kindly, generous, ready at all times to give of his best in knowledge or demonstration, to anyone who asked it, he could not brook opposition. His faith in his ideas allowed no question, and he demanded unfaltering belief from others.
On June 13, 1861, William Bonwill married Abigail E. Warren of Dover.
