History
History of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Thomas Jefferson University began as Jefferson Medical College in 1824. The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology has been part of Jefferson Medical College since its inception and was originally known as “Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children.” In 1825, Jefferson became the first medical college in the country to establish a clinic. At the time, standard medical school curricula consisted solely of lectures, making Jefferson an innovator in combining patient care with formal education. By 1877, the clinic had become the Jefferson Medical College Hospital, the second hospital in the United States to be directly associated with a medical school. In 2014, Jefferson Medical College became Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Since 1824, Jefferson has awarded more than 31,000 medical degrees and has more living graduates than any other private medical school in the nation.
Student lectures on midwifery and diseases of women and children and, later, obstetrics and gynecology have been given by a number of notable individuals over the years. These individuals include Drs. Samuel McClellan (brother of George McClellan), Charles Delucena (a founding editor of the North American Medical and Surgical Journal), Ellerslie Wallace (one of the founding members of the American Gynecological Society) and Edward E. Montgomery (who was a founding member of the American Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the first person to hold simultaneous memberships with the AAOG and the American Gynecological Society).
In 1835, Francis S. Beattie, 1st Chair of the Department, assisted Professor William Gibson with the first successful Caesarean section for both mother and child in Philadelphia.
In the late 19th century, Dr. Theophilus Parvin, 10th Chair of the Department, established “hospital instruction in obstetrics for medical students”1 and instituted, at Jefferson, the first obstetrical clinic in the United States.
Chairs of Jefferson Obstetrics & Gynecology
| William D. Schlaff, MD | 2011 – Present | Professor and Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Joseph M. Montella, MD | 2010 – 2011 | Interim Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Louis Weinstein, MD | 2004 – 2010 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Vincenzo Berghella | 2002 – 2004 | Interim Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Ronald J. Bolognese, MD | 1997 – 2002 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Richard N. Depp, MD | 1987 – 1997 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| James H. Lee, MD | 1975 – 1987 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Roy G. Holly, MD | 1965 – 1974 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| John B. Montgomery, MD | 1961 – 1965 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Thaddeus L. Montgomery, MD | 1955 – 1961 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Lewis C. Scheffey, MD | 1946 – 1955 | Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology Director, Division of Gynecology |
| Lewis C. Scheffey, MD | 1940 – 1946 | Professor of Gynecology |
| Norris W. Vaux | 1937 – 1946 | Chair of Obstetrics |
| Pascal B. Bland, MD | 1925 – 1937 | Professor of Obstetrics |
| Brooke M. Anspach, MD | 1921 – 1940 | Professor of Gynecology |
| Edward P. Davis, MD | 1898 – 1925 | Professor of Obstetrics |
| Edward E. Montgomery, MD | 1892 – 1920 | Professor of Gynecology |
| Theophilus Parvin, MD | 1883 – 1898 | Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children |
| Ellerslie Wallace, MD | 1862 – 1883 | Professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women |
| William V. Keating, MD | 1861 – 1862 | Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children (unable to complete his term. Dr. Meigs acted as interim Professor for the remainder of the year.) |
| Charles Delucena Meigs, MD | 1841 – 1862 | Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children |
| Robert M. Huston, MD | 1839 – 1841 | Professor of Obstetrics and Disease of Women and Children |
| Samuel McClellan, MD | 1832 – 1839 | Chair of Midwifery |
| Usher Parsons, MD | 1831 – 1832 | Chair of Midwifery |
| John Eberle, MD | 1928 – 1831 | Professor of Midwifery |
| John Barnes, MD | 1826 – 1827 | Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children |
| Francis S. Beattie, MD | 1824 –1826 | Professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children |
Works Cited:
1. – 2. “Part III: Clinical Departments and Divisions Continued --- Chapter 45: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (pages 707-736)” (1989).Thomas Jefferson University – tradition and heritage, edited by Frederick B. Wagner, Jr., MD 1989. Paper 36. jdc.jefferson.edu/wagner2/36.