Rufus Henry Gilbert
Rufus Henry Gilbert (1832–1885) was an American surgeon and inventor, who worked on rapid transit in New York City.
Rufus Henry Gilbert
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Rufus Henry Gilbert was born in Guilford, New York on January 26, 1832. Gilbert was the son of William Dwight Gilbert, a county judge in Steuben County, New York.[1]
Medical career[edit]
Gilbert studied at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and graduated to become a physician and surgeon.[2] During his time in New York City, Gilbert became concerned with the cramped and overly centralized living conditions of the working class, seeing this as a major public health hazard, and began thinking about urban rapid transit as the key to provision of more sanitary living conditions.[2]
During the American Civil War, he joined the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry as a surgeon, performing the first surgical procedure during the war at the Battle of Big Bethel. He eventually became Medical Director and Superintendent of the United States Army Hospitals.[2]