Thomas Morgan Rotch

Thomas Morgan Rotch (1849–1914) was the president of the American Pediatric Society for 1890–91^[1] and America's first full professor of pediatrics.^[2] He was the great-grandson of Samuel Powel Griffitts.^[3][4]

Thomas Morgan Rotch
Born	(1849-12-09)December 9, 1849 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	March 9, 1914(1914-03-09) (aged 64) Boston, Massachusetts
Education	Harvard Medical School
Occupation	Pediatrician
Signature

Biography

Thomas Morgan Rotch was born in Philadelphia on December 9, 1849.^[4] He graduated from Harvard College in 1870, and from Harvard Medical School in 1874.^[3] He then spent two years at the Universities of Berlin, Vienna, and Heidelberg to complete his medical education before returning to Boston.^[5]

Prior to Rotch, there had been no physician in New England devoted to child health.^[5] Rotch was instrumental in creating a department of pediatrics at Harvard, and in 1893 he became the first Professor of Pediatrics in the United States.^[5] He was also involved with the founding of the Boston Children's Hospital.^[5]

Rotch invented an incubator for premature infants, which was presented to the American Pediatric Society in 1895.^[5]

He was a founding member of the American Pediatric Society and served as its president from 1890 to 1891.^[5]

He died at his home in Boston on March 9, 1914.^[6]

Legacy

The Rotch sign is named after him.