James Nevins Hyde (1840–1910)

Abstract

DR. JAMES NEVINS HYDE, one of the most distinguished American dermatologists, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, on June 21, 1840, the son of a merchant. He received his medical education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and qualified in 1869 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. From that date until his death he practised in Chicago, where he was the principal pioneer in dermatology. His first appointment was that of lecturer in dermatology at the Rush Medical College from 1873 until 1876, when he was made professor of dermatology in the Northwestern University. Three years later he became professor of dermatology, genito-urinary and venereal diseases at Rush Medical College, and from 1902 until 1910 he held the chair of dermatology at the University of Chicago. He was also attending dermatologist to several hospitals in Chicago. His literary output was considerable. In addition to his principal work, “A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Skin”, which first appeared in 1883 and ran through eight editions, he contributed more than a hundred articles to dermatological literature. Hyde enjoyed an international reputation as shown by his membership of the dermatological societies of France, Italy, Berlin and Vienna. He was twice president of the American Dermatological Association and was secretary for America at the Fifth International Dermatological Association held in Berlin in 1904. He died suddenly at the age of seventy on September 6, 1910.