Thursday, October 6, 2011

RADM Presley Marion Rixey, Surgeon General (1902-1910)

Presley Marion Rixey (1852-1928) was commissioned an assistant surgeon in 1874. He was appointed Surgeon General in 1902 and his tenure was filled with achievements. New naval hospitals were built at Puget Sound, WA, Canacao, PI, Las Animas, CO, Great Lakes, IL, and Guam. Dr. Rixey doubled the size of the Medical Corps and moved the Naval Medical School to Washington in 1902. He sent officers abroad to study tropical medicine and to civilian institutions for specialized study. The Navy Nurse Corps was founded in 1908, and a second hospital ship USS Relief was fitted out to support President Theodore Roosevelt's "Great White Fleet" on its around-the-world cruise. He served Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt as personal physician and,as the latter's close confidante, had great influence on the political scene.

No comments:

Post a Comment