James Mease
James Mease | |
---|---|
Born | 11 August 1771 Philadelphia |
Died | 14 May 1846 (aged 74) Philadelphia |
Occupation | Physician |
Spouse(s) | Sarah Butler |
James Mease (1771–1846)[1] was a prominent American scientist, horticulturist, and doctor from Philadelphia who published the first known tomato-based ketchup recipe in 1812.[2]
Early life and education
Mease was born on August 11, 1771, the son of Philadelphians John and Esther (Miller) Mease. After receiving his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1787, he continued in medical school there, receiving his M.D. in 1792. Early in his medical career, Mease published several articles, and he served as a surgeon for nine months during the War of 1812.[3]
Publications and collected writings
Dr. Mease's published contributions to medical knowledge, however, were less significant than his contributions to several other fields. In addition to several medical works, Mease edited the well-received Domestic Encyclopedia (1803–04) and the two volume Archives of useful knowledge (1811–12), but he remains best known for this seminar 372-page volume, "The Picture of Philadelphia", and his 1807 Geological Account of the United States, which was among the earliest geological treatises by an American.
A numismatist, Mease published "Description of Some of the Medals Struck in Relation to Important Events in North America" in the Collections of the New-York Historical Society (vol. 3, 1821). Many of his papers were read before the American Philosophical Society, to which he was elected in 1802[4] and of which he was an officer, 1824–1836. He was a founder and first vice-president of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
Mease's papers are today deposited in the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library's History and Special Collections division at the University of California at Los Angeles.[1] There is also a collection of his writings at the Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library[5]
Ketchup innovation
Family
On July 3, 1800, Dr. Mease married Sarah Butler, the daughter of South Carolina Senator, Pierce Butler. They had two sons, both of whom changed their surnames as adults to Butler in order to secure an inheritance. One of the sons, Pierce Butler, married the renowned stage actress, Frances Anne Kemble. James Mease died in Philadelphia on May 14, 1846, and was buried in the cemetery of Third Presbyterian Church.[8] He met Fanny Kemble in 1832, and they married in 1834.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b OAC - James Mease papers
- ^ a b Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment, with Recipes by Andrew Smith, The Rise, and Demise of Homemade Ketchup, p.19.
- ^ "The lives of eminent Philadelphians, now deceased" by Henry Simpson (1859)
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ Guide to the James Mease papers, 1811-1842, Philadelphia - Guide to the Duke University Libraries
- ^ National Geographic - The Plate Archived 2020-04-27 at the Wayback Machine 4.21.2014
- ^ Ketchup: A Saucy History Archived 2018-04-02 at the Wayback Machine - History.com
- ISBN 978-0-8203-2395-4.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15318. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-0-8122-0174-1.