George T. Perkins Collection, 1850-1880. WAM 12748

George T. Perkins Collection, 1850-1880. WAM 12748

Surgical Instruments

Stethoscopes

Urology

Otolaryngology

Syringes

Gynecology

Perkins, George Thomas, 1838-1880

George Thomas Perkins was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1838. He received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1858. He also attended Johns Hopkins University. Perkins enlisted in the Union army in 1861. He joined the Massachusetts 22nd Infantry Regiment as a hospital steward, and was promoted to assistant surgeon in 1863. He held this position until 1864. He then joined the Massachusetts 32nd Infantry Regiment as an assistant surgeon, and was promoted to full surgeon later that year. He joined the Massachusetts 26th Infantry Regiment, where he served as surgeon until 1865. After the war, Perkins practiced as a physician in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, from 1865 to 1870. He became coroner of Middlesex County in 1869. Perkins served as a representative for Ward 17 on Boston’s Common Council from 1878 until his death in 1880. Perkins was involved in many organizations related to medicine and the military. He was an active member of Post 113 G.A.R., and a member of the Old Guard Association, which was comprised of past and present members of the 22nd Regiment. He belonged to a number of fraternal organizations, including the Knights of Honor, The Royal Arcanum, and the Freemansons. He was the medical examiner for the Commercial Travellers Association and the state medical examiner for the Knights of Honor. He was the medical director of the New England Mutual Aid Society, as well as a member of the Board of Managers. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Perkins died due to complications from a fall on the ice in 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts.

This collection contains medical instruments used by Dr. George T. Perkins. The instruments span a range of medical fields including otolaryngology, gynecology, and urology, as well as stethoscopes and syringes.