This collection contains several published biographies and memoirs of Parvin, four addresses, photocopies of several of his publications, letters sent to Parvin, news clippings, and various ephemera.
Theophilus Parvin (1829-1898) was born on January 9, 1829 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He graduated with his Bachelor’s degree from the State University of Indiana in 1847. For the next three years, Parvin taught high school in Lawrenceville, NJ and studied Hebrew at the Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1832, he obtained his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a resident physician at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia for one year, and then moved to Indianapolis and began practicing medicine there.
Parvin held several academic appointments throughout his career. He was Professor of Materia Medica at Ohio Medical College from 1864 to 1869; Professor of Obstetrics at Indiana Medical College in 1869; and Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Louisville from 1869 to 1872. Between 1873 and 1882, Parvin worked as a physician at the Indiana Women’s Prison. He briefly held a professorship at Indiana Medical College in 1881. In 1883, Parvin was appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children at Jefferson Medical College, a position he held until 1890. During Parvin’s tenure, Jefferson Hospital established a maternity department.
Parvin was also an active member of multiple professional medical organizations. He served as President of several, including: the State Medical Society of Indiana (1861); the American MedicalAssociation (1871); the Indiana Medical Association (1872); the American Medical Journalists’ Association; the American Academy of Medicine; the American Gynaecological Society; and the Philadelphia Obstetrical Society. He was also an honorary member of several European obstetrical societies. As an author, Parvin is best known for his book, The Science and Art of Obstetrics, first published in 1886.
Theophilus Parvin died of cardiac asthma, complicated by uremia and fluid in the lungs, on January 31, 1898in Philadelphia. Hewas 69 years old. His wife, Rachel Butler, died in 1916. They are buried together in Indianapolis.
I. Biography (1927-1961)
II. Addresses (1870-1897)
III. Publications (1875-1894)
IV. Correspondence (1861-1893)
V. Events and Ephemera (1884-1890)
VI. Necrology (1898-1899)
Theophilus Parvin Papers, MS-072. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections.
Theophilus Parvin Papers, MS-072. Thomas Jefferson University - Archives and Special Collections. http://aisrmedia1.jefferson.edu:81/repositories/2/resources/42 Accessed November 14, 2024.