SIMS
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SIMONS
J. MAHION SIMS, M. D., LL. D.
BORN IN SOUTH CAROLINA, 1813. DIED IN NEW
YORK CITY IN 1883.
SURGEON AND PHILANTHROPIST.
FOUNDER OF THE WOMAn's HOSPITAL OF THE STATE
OF NEW YORK.
HIS BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENTS CARRIED THE FAME
OF AMERICAN SURGERY
THROUGHOUT THE CIVILIZED WORLD.
IN RECOGNITION OF HIS SERVICES IN THE CAUSE OF
SCIENCE AND MA.NKIND
HE RECEIVED THE HIGHEST HONORS IN THE GIFT OF
HIS COUNTRYMEN
AND DECORATIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENTS OF
FRANCE, PORTUGAL, SPAI.M, BELGIUM, AND ITALY.
On the reverse:
PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK
BY
HIS PROFESSIONAL FRIENDS,
LOVING PATIENTS,
AND
MANY ADMIRERS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
Marion Sims j)ossessed a striking per- sonality. With all his long and bitter struggle with poverty and for profes- sional recognition, and in his early days for health and life itself, time had dealt gently with his form and face, whereon nature had set in unmistakable lines the stamp of greatness. Although he had rounded well the years allotted by the psalmist, his step was still quick and firm, his carriage erect, dignified and graceful. The frosts of age had not tinged the rich abundance of his dark-brown hair, which fell straight back from off the massive forehead, for the ever-active brain and the deep-seated, searching eyes of brown, asked always for the light! The brows were arched and unusually heavy and prominent; the nose beautifully pro- portioned and of Grecian type; the mouth well shaped, Ups usually com- pressed, which, with the prominent chin, bespoke courage and firmness of purpose. His face was oval, clean-shaven and smooth, and the usual expression was of almost womanly sweetness, yet it was quick to vary in harmony with whatever emotion was predominant. Away from excitement and in the home-life, his expression and actions were almost boyish. He never seemed to have for-
gotten that he was once a boy, and he
would throw himself into a household
frolic with all the abandon of his early
days. He was courageous to a degree,
and, although he rarely lost control of his
temper, yet he was at times imperious and
aggressive. When occasion demanded he
was a good fighter, and fought his enemies
with right good will; but he was quick to
forgive, and just before his death he said
one day, " I have forgiven all who ever
did me wrong, with one exception." As
said of him by a gifted orator, he possessed
qualities ideal in the make-up of a truly
great surgeon, "the brain of an Apollo,
the heart of a lion, the eye of an eagle, and
the hand of a woman."
A full list of his writings may be seen at the end of "The Story of my Life," New York, 1884; they include : " On the Treatment of Vesico- vaginal Fistula," Philadelphia, 1853; "Silver Sutures in Surgery," New York, 1858; "Clinical Notes on Uterine Surgery," New York, 1866. J. A. W.
Tribute to Jamet Marion Sims (W. O. Bald-
wn), 1884.
In Memoriam, Austin Flint, James Marion
Sims (W. M. Carpenter), 1866.
Am. J. Obstet., N. Y., 1884, vol. xvii (P. F.
.Munde).
Boston M. and S. Jour., 1883, vol. cix.
Galliard's M. Jour., N. Y., 1883, vol. xx.xvi
(autobiography).
Med. Rec, N. Y., 1883, vol. xxiv.
Tr. Am. Gyn. Soc, 1884, N. Y., 1885, vol. ix.
Tr. Am. Surg. Ass., 1884, Phila., 188'),
vol. ii. Port, in the Surg.-gen. Lib., Wash., D. C.
Simons, Benjamin Bonneau (1775-1844).
Benjamin Bonneau Simons was of French extraction, being descended from the Merovingian Kings, and originally named Saint Simon. The first colonist, Benjamin, came to this country in 1685 and became the progenitor of the whole Simons family in the South. Benjamin Bonneau Simons was born in Charleston, September 16, 1775, and graduated at Brown University, Rhode Island, and im- mediately went abroad to study medicine.
He attended the schools of Edinburgh, London and Paris, and was the pupil of
