Caspar Wistar (1761-1818)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Noted physician, lived here. Professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania. President of the American Philosophical Society & Pa. Abolition Society. In 1803, tutored Meriwether Lewis in Medicine & paleontology, in preparation for the expedition west.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Caspar Wistar, one of early America's most respected physicians, lived here while serving as professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and president of both the American Philosophical Society and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's behest, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in medicine and paleontology to prepare him for the Corps of Discovery's journey west. Wistar moved easily among the scientific, medical, and reform circles of the young republic.
Why it matters
Wistar linked American science to the great westward expedition of Lewis and Clark and to the era's antislavery movement, embodying the reforming intellect of the early republic.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Powel Housenearby · 244 South 3rd Street
- Hill-Physick House0.1 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
- Merchants' Exchange Building0.1 mi away · 143 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial0.2 mi away
- Independence Living History Center0.2 mi away
- New Hall Military Museum0.2 mi away · Philadelphia
Attractions
- Carpenters' Hall0.2 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- First Bank of the United States0.2 mi away · 120 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Second Bank of the United States0.2 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- City Tavern0.2 mi away · 138 South 2nd Street
- Liberty Bell0.3 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.3 mi away
Food & drink
- FRIEDA0.1 mi away · 320 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Buddakan0.2 mi away · 325 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Franklin Social0.2 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Red Owl Tavern0.2 mi away · 433 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Olivier Cafe0.2 mi away · 50 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Mechanics0.3 mi away · 22 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia
Places to stay
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.2 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Old City0.2 mi away · 1 Dock Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thomas Bond House0.2 mi away · 129 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotel0.2 mi away · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels Philadelphia0.3 mi away · 32 South Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels0.3 mi away · 33 Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Caspar Wistar
- · Meriwether Lewis
Related events
- · Lewis and Clark Expedition preparations, 1803
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Robert Patterson (1743-1824)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
Robert Patterson chaired mathematics and served as vice-provost at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1800s, a respected man of science in the young republic. In 1803 he tutored Meriwether Lewis in the celestial navigation and surveying skills the explorer would need to chart the unknown West. From this home Patterson helped equip the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the mathematical tools of discovery.
Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
Benjamin Smith Barton was among early America's foremost men of science, a physician and University of Pennsylvania professor who wrote the first botany textbook published in the United States. In 1803, at the request of the expedition's planners, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in natural history to prepare him to observe and record the plants, animals, and peoples of the West. From this Philadelphia home he stood at the crossroads of American medicine, natural science, and continental exploration.
Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2017
The composer and lyricist Marc Blitzstein was born here in 1905 and went on to reshape American musical theater by bringing everyday, working-class speech to the stage. His fiercely political The Cradle Will Rock and his enduring English adaptation of The Threepenny Opera pushed the boundaries of what a musical could say. Trained at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute, he became a mentor to the young Leonard Bernstein.
Anthony Benezet (1713-1784)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2016
In the crowded streets of colonial Philadelphia, a mild-mannered Quaker schoolteacher named Anthony Benezet quietly became one of the most influential abolitionists of his age. From this home he taught free and enslaved Black children in the 1750s and 60s, and in 1754 opened one of the era's earliest schools for girls—radical acts in a city where slavery was still ordinary. His tracts against the slave trade crossed the Atlantic, shaping antislavery thinkers in Britain and America alike.