Solyman Brown

Solyman Brown (November 17, 1790 – 1876) was an American dentist known for his role in creating the first dental school, the first US National Dental Society, and the first US Dental Journal. He was also known as a poet of dentistry.

Personal life and major events

Solyman Brown was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on November 17, 1790, son of Nathaniel and Thankful Brown. Renowned for being a member of the Society of Surgeon Dentists of New York City and the State of New York, he was also a founder and a member of the American Association of Dental Surgeons. In 1812, he graduated from Yale College, and two years later, he became a licentiate of the Congregational church. For seven years, he exercised his professional responsibilities, which also involved instructing the youth.

Brown worked in several areas. He graduated with the degrees BA, MA, MD, and DDS from Yale University. He was later a Christian missionary in Connecticut, but disputes with some of the Church leaders led him to a different prominent field. Brown published several books charting his viewpoints on how religion should be portrayed. According to the Journal of the American College of Dentists, Brown was best appreciated for establishing the first dental learning institution in the nineteenth century, the First national Dental Society, and the first dental journal within the United States, which was called the "American Journal of Dental Science."

During his first year in college, he had a severe illness in his lungs. Having been troubled by fragile health and irritation of the bronchia, he was forced almost completely to abandon public speaking to make teaching his full-time career. Brown moved to New York to proceed with his labours as a formal instructor in 1822. Here, he embraced Emmanuel Swedenborg's doctrines and was constituted a regular preacher of the New Jerusalem Church. Nevertheless, he continued to teach until 1832. He married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of Amos Butler, in 1834.