Biographical / Historical
Thomas Duché Mitchell (1791-1865) was born in Philadelphia in 1791, into a family that had resided in the city for three generations. He attended Quaker schools in Philadelphia before enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania for medical school. Mitchellworked in a drug store and a chemical laboratory before his graduation in 1812.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Mitchell was appointed Professor of Vegetable and Animal Physiology at St. John’s College. Between 1822 and 1831, Mitchell practiced medicine in the Frankford neighborhood of Philadelphia. He then held a series ofteaching positions at several colleges and universities. In the winter of 1830-1831, he served as Chair of Chemistry at Miami University (Oxford, OH). By summer 1831, he had assumed the Chair of Chemistry at the Medical College of Ohio in Cincinnati. Mitchell remained in Cincinnati until 1837, when he accepted the Chair of Chemistry and Pharmacy at Transylvania University (Lexington, KY). During his time at Transylvania University, Mitchell twicecalled upon to fillvacancies caused by the death of a colleague. The first was in 1838, when he assumed the Chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine after Professor John Eberle died. He served as Chair of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children for the 1844-1845 session after the death of Professor William H. Richardson.
In 1847, Mitchell briefly returned to his home city of Philadelphia to accept the Chair of Theory and Practice, Obstetrics, and Medical Jurisprudence at the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He resigned from Transylvania University in 1849, with the intention of seeking a permanent position in Philadelphia. In 1852, Mitchell was appointed Chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Kentucky School of Medicine in Louisville. He resigned this position in 1854, citing ill health, and returned to Philadelphia. In 1857, Mitchell assumed the Chair of Materia Medica and Therapeutics at Jefferson Medical College.
In addition to his teaching, Mitchell published extensively on medical topics. His medical school thesis, “On Acidification and Combustion,” was published in the Memoirs of the Columbian Medical Society. He contributed to several medical journals, including Coxe’s Medical Museum, New York Medical Depository, Dwane’s Portfolio, and others. Other notable written works include: On Chemical Philosophy(1832); Hints to Students (1832); On Materia Medica(1850); and an edited edition of John Eberle’s On the Diseases of Children with new notes.
Thomas D. Mitchell taught at Jefferson Medical College until his death on May 13, 1865, in Philadelphia. He was 74 years old.