Gunning Bedford, M.D.

Gunning S. Bedford (1806 – 1870) was an important physician and the nephew of Gunning Bedford, who was the first Attorney General of Delaware and one of the framers or signers of the Constitution of the United States. Doctor Bedford received his medical degree from Rutgers Medical College in 1829. Following graduation, he spent two years abroad in Europe continuing his medical studies. Upon his return to the U.S., Bedford was appointed professor of obstetrics at the Charleston Medical College in South Carolina in 1833. Thereafter, he moved to New York and in 1836 accepted a professorship at the Albany Medical College. Four years later (1840), in cooperation with Dr. Valentine Mott, Bedford helped found the University Medical College (of New York City) and accepted the chair of obstetrics, which he held until 1862. In connection with this school, Bedford introduced and established an obstetrical clinic for poor women – the first of its kind in the United States. Bedford was the author of two books. His “Diseases of Women and Children” went through ten different editions, and his “Principles and Practice of Obstetrics” passed through five editions.