Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878: Home

Portrait of William Cullen Bryant on display in the reception area of Sunshine Cottage

Birth: November 3, 1794
Death: June 12, 1878

NYMC History: 

• President and Head of the Board of Trustees  (1862-1872)¹
• Founder, New York Homeopathic Medical College (1860)²

Additional Biographical Information:

In 1826, Bryant moved from Massachusetts to New York City to assume the editor-ship of the New York Evening Post.  In 1829, he became the editor in chief of the Evening Post.³  William Cullen Bryant never became a doctor, but he was one of the first in  New York City to accept homeopathy as a new healing system.  In 1834, he joined the New York Homeopathic Society.  His addresses both written and oral supported homeopathy and the use of remedies such as aconite, arsenic, belladonna, mercurials, and sulfur.  In 1841, he became the first president of the New York Homeopathic Society.²

Bryant helped establish Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  He also campaigned for a full-time paid fire department in New York City.  He was well known as an outspoken opponent of slavery.⁴

SOURCES:

1.  NYMC Annual Announcements
2. The Encyclopedia of New York State, p. 968
3. Godwin, Parke. A biography of William Cullen Bryant: with extracts from his private correspondence. D. Appleton and Company, 1883
4. Bradley, William Aspenwall. William Cullen Bryant. The Macmillan company, 1905, page 177.