Robert H. Chase
| Robert H. Chase | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 30, 1845 Salem, MA |
| Died | March 13, 1921 Philadelphia, PA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Superintendent of: Friends Hospital, Crest View, Norristown State Hospital, St. Elizabeth's Hospital |
Dr. Robert Howland Chase (1845-1922), noted psychiatrist and superintendent of the Friends Hospital from 1893 to 1919, Superintendent of Crest View Sanitarium. Dr. Chase was the author of several books on mental ailments, in which he was considered a considerable national authority. Also during his career, he was assistant physician at the Government Hospital for the Insane, later known as St Elizabeths Hospital, in Washington, D.C. from 1872 to 1880. From 1880 to 1893, he was medical superintendent of the male department of the State Hospital for the Insane, later renamed Norristown State Hospital.
He was born in Salem, Mass., Dr. Chase was educated at Haverford College, where he received his AB in 1865, and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, from which he graduated in 1869. Following the completion of his education he completed an internship at Philadelphia Almshouse and Old Philadelphia Dispensary from 1869 to 1870. Dr. Chase maintained a private practice for two years before accepting a medical position within the state hospital system.
Dr. Chase is best remember for his academic achievements. In 1902 he completed his magnum opus "General Paresis of the Insane", which was used a primary psychiatric textbook for the next few decades. He also penned the works "Mental Medicine and Nursing" in 1914, and "The Ungeared Mind" in 1918. "The Ungeared Mind" remains in common academic circulation.
His mother was Elizabeth Howland, a relative of Hetty Green, the American Millionaire, from who he inherited the $3,000,000 Howland estate. He was twice married, his first wife was Amanda Howe Adams, died in 1885. His second wife was Jane Sovereign Rumsey.
