Abstract
Dr William Pepper Jr was a prominent Philadelphia physician whose contributions to medicine in the late 19th century are not widely known. As a young physician he rose in stature rapidly due to his abilities as a diagnostician, teacher, writer and researcher. His primary interest, however, was to improve the education of physicians. He orchestrated the creation of America's first university-controlled teaching hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, enabling substantial improvements in clinical training. Pepper later became Provost of the University of Pennsylvania and ambitiously transformed the curriculum of the medical school, providing greater basic science and clinical training. He also worked to establish several institutes and museums in Philadelphia in order to promote academic pursuits, particularly in medicine. William Pepper Jr was one of the 19th century's foremost medical educators and his accomplishments helped reshape the way medicine was taught throughout the United States.
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