Foster Swift: A guiding spirit in early American dermatology

Foster Swift (1833-1875) was a pioneer of early American dermatology. In 1866, he became one of the first lecturers on diseases of the skin in the United States at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. The following year, he was appointed one of our nation's first professors of dermatology at the same institution. In 1869, Swift helped to found the New York Dermatological Society, the first such organization in the world. He also contributed to the American Journal of Syphilography and Dermatology, the first dermatology journal to be published in the United States. Unfortunately, Swift contracted tuberculosis in 1870, curtailing his professional career, and he died of the disease five years later. This contribution tells the story of Foster Swift, a most remarkable physician, who guided and helped to shape American dermatology during its formative years.