NASSY, DAVID DE ISAAC COHEN. Observations on the Cause, Nature, and Treatment of the Epidemic Disorder Prevalent in Philadelphia

The first medical work by an American Jewish Physician. Nassy, born in Surinam into its leading Sephardi family, was a descendant of David Nassy who had founded the Jewish Community there in 1664. In 1792, Nassy settled in Philadelphia where he was the first Jewish physician to practice in that city. The present work was precipitated by an outbreak of yellow fever and Nassy’s subsequent successful diagnosis and treatment. In 1795 he returned to Surinam, where he entertained commercial pursuits whilst maintaining communal responsibilities. For an interesting selection of letters written by Nassy that reflect the influence of America’s egalitarian concepts, see J.R. Marcus, American Jewry-Documents Eighteenth Century (1959) pp.465-73; see also E. Wolf & M. Whiteman, The History of the Jews of Philadelphia (1957) pp. 193-4 and pl.24