Benjamin Rush – 1746-1813

Rush was a pioneering American medical researcher and respected teacher of medicine. He was a pioneer in the field of psychiatry and a crusader for the humane treatment of asylum inmates. He was also a prime mover of the independence movement, a member of the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was at his instigation that Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense (1776), which was an important catalyst for independence.