Levi Myers

Levi Myers (1767-1822) was a physician known for being the first Jewish medical graduate from the University of Glasgow.[1] He was the father of Mordecai Myers.

Early life and education

Myers was born on 26 October 1767 in Jacksonboro, South Carolina.[2] His father was Mordecai Myers (1727-1788), a merchant from Rhode Island, and his mother was Esther Cohen, the daughter of a rabbi.[2]

At the age of fifteen, Myers began apprenticing to physicians in Charleston, including David Ramsay.[2][3] His medical education continued at the University of Edinburgh, where he matriculated in 1785.[2] He was examined at the University of Glasgow, first privately by William Hamilton and Alexander Stevenson, then publically before the Senate on 21 September 1787.[4] He was subsequently awarded the degree of MD, and spent a further year completing his studies in Edinburgh.

Career

In 1789, Myers returned to South Carolina, where he settled in Georgetown.[2] He operated medical practices both there and in Charleston.[1] He also ran an apothecary, which is thought to have been his primary source of income.[3]

In 1796, Myers was elected to the State Legislature.[2] He was appointed Apothecary General of the State in 1799, a post he held for the rest of his life.[5][6] He became the first Jewish doctor to be member to the Medical Society of South Carolina.[1] He was also a member of the Library Society of Georgetown.[7]

Debilitated by illness, Myers generally retired from practicing medicine after 1815.[2]

Death

In September 1822, Myers was killed when a hurricane ravaged his home in North Inlet, South Carolina. His body was discovered a month later.[2] His wife Frances Myers (née Mini), four of their children and eight slaves were also killed.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "University Story". universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-03-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins, Kenneth (2016). "Levi Myers (1767–1822): An eighteenth century Glasgow medical graduate from South Carolina". Journal of Medical Biography. 24 (2): 275–280. doi:10.1177/0967772013518471. ISSN 0967-7720.
  3. ^ a b Jacob Rader Marcus (1989). United States Jewry, 1776-1985.
  4. ^ Collins, Kenneth E. (1982). "Jewish medical students and graduates in Scotland, 1739—1862". Jewish Historical Studies. 29: 75–96. ISSN 0962-9696.
  5. ^ Malamed, Sandra Cumings (2010). The return to Judaism : descendants from the Inquisition discovering their Jewish roots. Internet Archive. McKinleyville, Calif. : Fithian Press. ISBN 978-1-56474-504-0.
  6. ^ Elzas, Barnett A. (Barnett Abraham) (1905). The Jews of South Carolina, from the earliest times to the present day. The Library of Congress. Philadelphia, J.B.Lippincott.
  7. ^ Bernard Postal (1979). American Jewish Landmarks: A Travel Guide and History. Internet Archive. Fleet Pr Corp. ISBN 978-0-8303-0157-7.
  8. ^ Jr, Walter J. Fraser (2009-03-01). Lowcountry Hurricanes: Three Centuries of Storms at Sea and Ashore. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-3333-5.
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