KASSABIAN 647 KEARSLEY that day when men of science and art and rich and poor marched sorrowfully beside the coffin of this able man. Biog. of Elisha Kent Kane, V. Elder, PhiU., 1858. Charleston Med. Jour., 1857, vol. xii. Appleton's Cyclop, of Amer. Biog., N. Y., 1887. The Love-life of Dr. Kane, New York, 1866. Kassabian. Mihran Krikor (1870-1910) Mihran Krikor Kassabian, roentgenologist, was born on August 25, 1870, at Cacsarea, Cappadocia, Asia Minor. Almost from his birth to his death he was surrounded by dan- ger. In his home country he was exposed to epidemics of cholera, experienced the terrors of earthquake and was surrounded by the hor- ror of massacre. In his adopted country he enlisted in the hospital corps of the regular army in the Spanish American War and was one of the first to take up the study and use of the Roentgen Ray. His early education was received in an American Missionarj' In- stitute, where he afterwards became an in- structor; he early became interested in pho- tography and attained great skill in that branch of study. His ambition was to become a missionary and with that end in view he went to London to study theology and medi- cine, in 1893. After a year spent there in the study of theology he came to America and again took up work in photography and also the study of medicine, receiving his de- gree at the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia in the spring of 1898. During his college life he was never idle ; all his spare time and every vacation was spent in earning the money to give him an education. Soon after graduating he was appointed skia- grapher and instructor in electro-therapeutics in the Medico-Chirurgical College of Phila- delphia, serving in this capacity until 1902. In 1903 he was appointed director of the Roent- gen ray laboratory of the Philadelphia Hos- pital and held this position until his death. Roentgen had recently described his discovery and told the world of its wonderful proper- ties and its possible value as a diagnostic agent. Dr. Kassabian was immediately interested and with his usual enthusiasm he took up the prac- tical application of the rays in an attempt to help the development of this wonderful agent. Ignorant of the dangers and cognizant only of his duty and the possibility of new dis- covery, he was constantly exposed to the ac- tion of the rays. Precaution of any sort was unheard of and it was during the first few years of his work that the dermatitis started that later caused his death. The use of X-rays in forensic medicine in- terested him greatly. He was an excellent expert witness; his thoroughness, fairness and skill did much to establish the value of this agent before the courts. Dr. Kassabian was a charter member of the American Roentgen Ray Society, and was its vice-president as well as vice-president of the American Electro-Therapeutic Society. He was given the appointment of X-ray expert to the tuberculosis congress and of represen- tative of the American Medical Association to international meetings in foreign countries. He wrote "Electro-Therapeutics and the Roent- gen Rays," which went into its second edition before his death. After having become a naturalized citizen of the United States, he re-visited his former country and there married a lady of his own nationality. A charming and intelligent wo- man, she nursed her husband with the utmost devotion through the protracted and terrible suffering which ended only with his death. This occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 14, 1910. "VV. F. M." in Amer. Quar. of Roentgenology, Dec, 1910, 280-283. Portrait. Keagy, John M. (17957-1837) John M. Keag)', physician, educator and early advocate of the "word method" in teach- ing children to read, was born in Martic Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about 1795. He studied medicine and gradu- ated in 1817. He had a classical education and turned his attention to teaching; he be- came principal of the Harrisburg Academy in 1827. Two years later he took charge of the Friends High School at Philadelphia; afterwards he was made professor of lan- guages at Dickinson College, being trustee of that institution from 1833-35. He contributed a series of articles on educa- tional subjects to the Baltimore Chronicle (1830), and wrote a book, "The Pestalozzian Primer," published in 1827. He died at Philadelphia, January 30, 1837, before he had time to enter upon the duties of professor of natural science, to which he had been elected at Dickinson College. Appleton's Cyclopedia of Amer. Biog., N. Y., 1887. Information from J, H. Morgan, President Dick- inson College. Kearsley, John (1685-1772) He emigrated from England to Pennsyl- vania in 1711, and acquired a very large prac- tice in Philadelphia, where he had for appren- tices Drs. Zachary, Redman, and Bard. Kears- ley was prominent in public affairs, serving as a member of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
