Samuel George Morton Biography

Samuel George Morton (January 26, 1799 – May 15, 1851) was an American physician and natural scientist. Morton, who was reared a Quaker but became Episcopalian in midlife, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attended Westtown School, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1820. After earning an advanced degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he began practice in Philadelphia in 1824. He was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Medical College in Philadelphia and served as its professor of anatomy from 1839 until his resignation 1843. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1844.