Smith, Stephen (1823–1922)

US surgeon and public health pioneer. He wrote several textbooks, of which his Handbook of Surgical Operations (1862) was most valuable to Civil War surgeons. The Metropolitan Health Law that he drafted for New York City in 1866 served to guide sanitation reforms in cities throughout the USA. He worked for higher standards in everything from vaccinations to nursing education.

He was born in Onondaga County, New York. He was one of the founders as well as first president of the American Public Health Association in 1871.