Medical Pioneer. Known as the "Gunfighter's Surgeon," he was the first physician known to operate successfully on abdominal gunshot wounds. At age 12, he was sent East for his schooling only to be expelled for incorrigibility and then placed in a military school in Oakland. He was enrolled at Annapolis only to be dismissed after knocking unconscious the school's first black cadet in a hazing incident. His cousin, a physician influenced him toward medicine and he enrolled at Ohio's Wooster College. Upon graduation and married, the couple returned to Oakland to a medical practice. Bored & restless, he moved to Tombstone setting up a practice in the Crystal Palace Saloon. His association with the likes of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, the Clanton and McLaury brothers and many others put money in his pocket. The year 1886 found him on a manhunt for Apache chieftain Geronimo. Later, he led an earthquake rescue team to Sonora, Mexico. He performed the first perineal prostatectomy operation (surgery to treat bladder problems due to enlarged prostate); George traveled the U.S. demonstrating his operation. He set up a practice in Los Angeles pioneering dramatic advances in spinal anesthesia. Always on the move, he joined the Spanish-American war as a volunteer in the Cuban campaign. Fluent in Spanish, he received a commendation. After the war, he settled in San Francisco. Suffering from a nervous disorder that ended his surgical career, he moved to Los Angeles to be near his daughter and friend Wyatt Earp. Hospitalized at Angleus Hsp, he died at the age of 54.
Medical Pioneer. Known as the "Gunfighter's Surgeon," he was the first physician known to operate successfully on abdominal gunshot wounds. At age 12, he was sent East for his schooling only to be expelled for incorrigibility and then placed in a military school in Oakland. He was enrolled at Annapolis only to be dismissed after knocking unconscious the school's first black cadet in a hazing incident. His cousin, a physician influenced him toward medicine and he enrolled at Ohio's Wooster College. Upon graduation and married, the couple returned to Oakland to a medical practice. Bored & restless, he moved to Tombstone setting up a practice in the Crystal Palace Saloon. His association with the likes of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, the Clanton and McLaury brothers and many others put money in his pocket. The year 1886 found him on a manhunt for Apache chieftain Geronimo. Later, he led an earthquake rescue team to Sonora, Mexico. He performed the first perineal prostatectomy operation (surgery to treat bladder problems due to enlarged prostate); George traveled the U.S. demonstrating his operation. He set up a practice in Los Angeles pioneering dramatic advances in spinal anesthesia. Always on the move, he joined the Spanish-American war as a volunteer in the Cuban campaign. Fluent in Spanish, he received a commendation. After the war, he settled in San Francisco. Suffering from a nervous disorder that ended his surgical career, he moved to Los Angeles to be near his daughter and friend Wyatt Earp. Hospitalized at Angleus Hsp, he died at the age of 54.
Bio by: Paul S.
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