John Redman Coxe

John Redman Coxe (September 16, 1773 – March 22, 1864) was a medical doctor and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Early life and education Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Coxe, was reportedly descended from a long line of medical and surgical ancestors, several of whom, at different periods, were physicians to the kings and queens of England.

Redman seems to have liked English methods best, for he sent his grandson to English schools and on to the University of Edinburgh when Coxe was sixteen to begin classical studies under a chosen teacher. There the surgeon with whom he boarded induced him to attend the hospital lectures. During this time, Coxe was also an editor of The American Dispensary, and a medical dictionary. Despite his lengthy tenure as a professor, the University of Pennsylvania medical faculty "found the subject of materia medica and pharmacy to be of secondary interest" and "had little respect for Coxe's abilities as a teacher", leading to the termination of his teaching position in 1835.

Coxe was also among the first American scientists attracted to the study of electrical phenomena, and it has been claimed that "is familiarity with the science of electricity led him to anticipate the alleged discoveries of Morse many years afterward". In a letter written to an English friend, published in Thomas Thompson's Annals of Philosophy, Coxe wrote:

Publications His writings included: the Batavian Society of Sciences at Harlem, the Royal Medical Society of London, the Royal Society of Sciences of Copenhagen. He took great interest in both St. Andrew's and St. Luke's Episcopal Churches, having been one of the early founders and vestrymen in each: in St. Andrew's, when living at the corner of Ninth and Walnut Streets; in St. Luke's, when residing in the house he built, surrounded by a large garden, at Broad and Pine Streets.

It was in this house that Dr. Coxe died at the age of 90, "never having been sick in his life; never having had a headache; never going to the dentist". He was buried in Woodlands Cemetery.