Greensville S. Dowell
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(September 1822 - June 9, 1881) Virginia native Dr. Greensville S. Dowell moved to Texas in 1853. During the Civil War he served as a surgeon in the Confederate army in Galveston. He was instrumental in the founding of the Galveston Medical Society, Texas Medical College and Hospital, and the "Galveston Medical Journal," the first publication of its kind in Texas. A noted surgeon, Dowell designed several surgical instruments and was an authority on the treatment of yellow fever. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Virginia-born physician who came to Texas in 1853, Dr. Greensville S. Dowell served as a Confederate army surgeon in Galveston during the Civil War before building a lasting mark on Texas medicine. He helped found the Galveston Medical Society, the Texas Medical College and Hospital, and the state's first medical journal. A gifted surgeon, he designed his own instruments and became a leading authority on the treatment of yellow fever, the scourge of Gulf Coast port cities.
Why it matters
Dowell helped lay the foundations of professional medicine and medical education in Texas, in a city repeatedly ravaged by the yellow fever he devoted himself to fighting.
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Themes & tags
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