Smith, Nathan (1762–1829)

US doctor, surgeon, and medical educator. Yale's first professor of anatomy, surgery, and obstetrics in 1813, he was one of the most advanced American physicians of his day both in his surgical techniques and in emphasizing close observation instead of traditional theory. His most important writing was ‘Practical Essay on Typhous Fever’ (1824).

He was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. After serving as an apprentice to doctors in Vermont, he began practicing medicine in Cornish, New Hampshire, but, realizing his lack of knowledge, he pursued studies at Harvard 1789–90 and then in Europe 1796–97. Back in Cornish with a flourishing practice, he persuaded nearby Dartmouth College to teach medicine and in 1798 he became the medical school's first professor.