Howe

ton, Mass., the son of Samuel Hubbard and Eliz-
abeth Hubbard (Moore) Howe. He was de-
scended from John Howe of Sudbury who be-
came a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony in
1640 and died in Marlboro in 1680. While An-
drew was still a child his father moved to Leices-
ter where the boy received his early education
in the district school and under the wise direction
of his mother. Though he was intensely fond of
outdoor activities, his love for books early be-
came paramount. He began the study of medi-
cine under Dr. Calvin Newton, attending lec-
tures at Worcester Medical Institute. Feeling
the lack of preparatory training, he returned to
Leicester and entered the academy there. After
three years' close application, he entered Har-
vard, from which he was graduated in 1853.
Under the spell of the brilliant Agassiz, young
Howe was attracted to geology as a possible life
work, but returned to his original choice, medi-
cine. Dr. Frank H. Kelley of Worcester became
his preceptor for a time, and in 1853 he entered
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. The
following year he went to New York, where he
attended lectures and walked the wards of the
hospitals, steadily advancing in knowledge of
clinical medicine and surgery. He then returned
to Worcester Medical Institute. Upon his grad-
uation in 1855, his attainments were such that
he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy, from
which position he soon advanced to the profes-
sorship of anatomy. For six months he efficient-
ly cared for the surgical practice of Dr. Walter
Burnham, and then opened an office for himself
in Worcester.

In 1856 he was invited to lecture in the College
of Eclectic Medicine and Surgery in Cincinnati,
and again the next year, after which time he re-
mained in Cincinnati, In 1859 ^e became profes-
sor of anatomy in the Eclectic Medical Institute,
with which the College of Eclectic Medicine and
Surgery had merged, and two years later was
given the chair of surgery, which he held until
his death.

As a surgeon he attained distinction and was
called to all parts of the United States to per-
form operations. Though operating in the days
prior to surgical asepsis, his success was remark-
able, owing to his skill in diagnosis, accurate
knowledge of anatomy, fearlessness, steady hand,
and remarkable surgical judgment For many
years he wrote voluminously, not only concern-
ing surgery, but on a wide range of subjects.
Natural history still claimed a share of his in-
terest He was a member of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, and the
Cincinnati Society of Natural History, before

Howe

which bodies he presented many papers. His
editorials and leading articles were a feature of
the Eclectic Medical Journal for more than thirty
years. A work in manuscript by him, designed
for children, was published by his wife after his
death, Conversations on Animal Life (1897).
Among the textbooks prepared by him are A
Practical and Systematic Treatise on Fractures
and Dislocations (1870), Manual of Eye Surgery
(1874), Art and Science of Surgery (1876),
Operative Gynaecology (1890). Oi his Art and
Science of Surgery, Dr. Harvey W. Felter wrote:
"While science moves on and new discoveries re-
place old theories and methods—and some of Dr.
Howe's will go with them—yet will this book re-
main a delightful and valued repository of sur-
gical lore stored in choice and chaste language"
(post, p. 120). Though extremely conservative
in the use of medicines Howe developed many
substances of permanent value. He died Jan. 16,
1892, of carbuncle upon the neck, having delayed
calling surgical aid until it was too late to save
his life, and was buried at Paxton, Mass. He
was married, Feb. 2, 1858, to Georgiana Lakin
of Paxton.

[D. W. Howe, Howe Geneals. . . . John Howe of

i my luyq.} J.J.. w. jt'citci, uwi/t. uj~ tns Lloyd Library of
Botany, Pharmacy and Materia Medica, No. 19f 1912;
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. Jan. 17. 1802.]

J.U.L.

HOWE, ELIAS (July 9, iSip-Oct. 3, 1867),
inventor, was born in Spencer, Worcester Coun-
ty, Mass., the son of Elias and Polly (Bemis)
Howe, and a descendant of John Howe, of Sud-
bury, who became a freeman of Massachusetts
Bay Colony in May 1640 and died at Marlboro
in 1680. Elias Howe, Sr., was a farmer and the
owner of a small grist-mill and a sawmill. Howe
went to school occasionally in the winter time
and worked on the farm and in the mills. The
machinery of the latter interested him particu-
larly, and he liked nothing better than to tinker
with it and make repairs. When he was twelve
years old his father could not afford to keep him
in clothes any longer and hired him out to a
neighboring farmer. Poor health and lameness
prevented him from doing heavy farm work, and
a year later he returned home to help in the saw-
and grist-mills. Ambitious to learn more about
machinery, he went to Lowell, Mass., in 1835
and became an apprentice in an establishment
that manufactured cotton machinery. The panic
of 1837 severed this connection and Howe went
to Cambridge, Mass. Here he found work in a
machine-shop where he operated a newly invent-
ed hemp-carding machine. After a few months
he went to Boston and became an apprentice of

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