Dr. Benjamin Rush
Posted by Carolyn on February 27, 1998 at 08:00:24:
In response to Alcoholism, written by Miller on February 26, 1998 at 06:58:09
] I understand that alcoholism was rampant in Jane Austen's time. Has anyone heard of statistics in this regard or furthermore of some early form of Alcoholics Anonymous?
Dr. Rush wrote one of the first medical pamphlets regarding the abuse of alcohol around 1795?. I did a quick search on Dr. Rush, but could not find a copy of his pamphlet on line, though I did find a nice biography on the doctor.
He was one the first doctors to treat alcoholism as a disease though this was not generally accepted by the medical community until 20th century.
I actually knew to look for Dr. Rush from a Regency romance novel I read, the Rake & the Reformer, by Mary Jo Putney, in which the hero was an alcoholic.
- Link: Dr. Rush bio
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