356  Teachers  of  Chemistry  in  America.      { AD^uS.  w<Mrm' 
was  probably  well  grounded  in  the  science  as  it  was  then  known. 
He  did  not  continue  long  as  a  teacher,  as  owing  to  his  removal 
from  New  York,  in  1770,  he  was  succeeded  in  the  chair  of  chemis- 
try by  Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  the  founder  of  the  medical  school  in  Kings 
College,  who  was  also  the  professor  of  the  theory  and  practice  of 
physic.  This  school,  like  the  one  in  Philadelphia,  was  discontinued 
during  the  Revolutionary  war.  In  1792  it  was  reorganized  as  the 
medical  department  of  Columbia  College,  and  Dr.  Nicholl  was 
elected  professor  of  chemistry. 
Fortunes  of  war  and  Pennsylvania  politicians  had,  in  the  meantime, 
played  sad  havoc  with  the  College  of  Philadelphia.  The  legislature 
of  the  State  had,  in  November,  1779,  passed  an  act  abrogating  the 
charter  of  the  College,  confiscating  its  estates  and  removing  from 
office  all  officials,  professors  and  others,  in  any  way  connected  with 
the  institution.  In  extenuation  of  this  summary  action  on  the  part 
of  the  legislature,  it  may  be  said  that  the  provost  of  the  col- 
lege, Dr.  William  Smith,  was  suspected  of  being  in  favor  of.  the 
royalist  party,  and  that  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  board  of 
trustees  were  thought  to  be  antagonistic  to  the  new  government. 
The  confiscated  estates  were  transferred  to  a  new  institution,  cre- 
ated by  the  legislature  for  that  purpose,  called  the  University  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  John  Ewing,  who,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, had  been  the  assistant  of  Dr.  William  Smith  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Philadelphia,  was  elected  provost  and  professor  of  natural 
philosophy,  in  which  capacity  he  taught  chemistry  until  his  death 
in  1802.  Considerable  difficulty  was  experienced  in  trying  to  orga- 
nize a  medical  faculty,  and  it  was  not  until  1783  that  the  school 
was  finally  put  in  operation  with  practically  the  same  faculty  that 
had  taught  in  the  College  of  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Rush  continued  to 
leach  chemistry  until  1789,  when  he,  with  the  other  professors,  re- 
s'gned  to  accept  the  corresponding  professorship  in  the  then  reor- 
ganized College  of  Philadelphia.  In  this  capacity  he  was  succeeded, 
on  the  death  of  John  Morgan  and  his  own  advancement  to  the  chair 
of  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine,  in  1789,  by  Caspar  Wistar, 
who  was  elected  professor  of  chemistry  and  of  the  institutes  of 
physic.  The  officials  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
decided  to  continue  a  medical  department  of  their  own,  and  Dr. 
James  Hutchinson  was  elected  professor  of  chemistry  and  materia 
medica.    The  career  of  Dr.  Hutchinson  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
