William Brown, M.D. (ca. 1748-1792)

E-144

Dr. William Brown, Revolutionary War physician, was born in Scotland and raised in Maryland. After studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh, he established a practice in Alexandria. In 1775 he became surgeon of the 2nd Virginia Regiment. In 1778 the Continental Congress appointed him physician general of the Middle Department, extending from the Hudson to the Potomac River. At the military hospital in Lititz, PA, Brown compiled the “Lititz Pharmacopeia” (1778), a collection of medical procedures and formulas for the compounding of medications. This was the first American formulary and a pioneering effort to provide standardized care. Brown is buried here in Pohick Cemetery.

Department of Historic Resources, 2017

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Donald W. Gunter, “Brown, William,” Dictionary of Virginia Biography, 2:313-314. Alexander Gustavus Brown, “Virginia’s Physician-Generals in the Revolution,” Sons of the Revolution in the State of Virginia Quarterly Magazine, vol. 2, no. 2 (April 1923), 12-22. “Agreement with William Halley, 20 February 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0477 Virginia Gazette, 4 Aug. 1774. Gazette of the United States, 28 Jan. 1792. John D. Sinks, “The Life and Times of Physician-General William Brown,” Fairfax Resolves Chapter, Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution. Glenn Sonnedecker, Kremer’s and Urdang’s History of Pharmacy, reprint of the fourth edition (Madison, WI: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1976).