James Beaty Eagleson, M.D. (1862-1928)

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The name Eagleson invokes the iconic post-fire image of the makeshift office of Doctors Eagleson and Smith, Physicians and Surgeons hastily reopened in a tent -- at Third and Columbia Streets -- in the aftermath of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

Considered to be one of the most distinguished physicians in Seattle history, Dr. Eagleson's legacy extends far beyond that moment in history. Among his many career achievements was serving as the medical director of the University of Washington's Base Hospital 50.

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on August 30, 1862, James Beaty Eagleson’s parents steered him towards a career as a minister. His father, William Eagleson, was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and his mother, Elizabeth Hodsden, hailed from Ohio. James Eagleson received his early education in Chillicothe and taught school for several years.

A desire for higher education led him to begin studying medicine in 1881, under the mentorship of Dr. David H. Scott. He graduated from Chicago’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1885 and practiced as an intern for a year at the U.S. Marine Hospital in Chicago.

Writing in his journal on Friday, August 20, 1886, Eagleson noted: "I received my order to go to Port Townsend today" fulfilling his dream of being posted to the Pacific Northwest. He was just shy of his 24th birthday. By August, 1887, he had received his official appointment as Acting Assistant Surgeon, Marine Hospital Service, with a yearly salary of $600 and a letter from the Surgeon General to proceed to Seattle to establish the station there.

Dr. Eagleson’s work later led him to Providence and Grace Hospitals, to contract for medical treatment of seamen under the Marine Hospital Service, and a partnership with Dr. Thomas T. Minor. A later partnership was formed with Dr. Lewis R. Dawson. He sought additional training to extend his knowledge of surgery and in September, 1892, traveled to Europe to visit the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the hospitals of London. He was the first Seattle physician to specialize in and limit his practice to surgery. As a surgeon, he was noted for his accurate diagnoses and his conservative approach to operating.

Dr. Eagleson was actively involved in area medical societies and contributed regularly to medical journals. In 1889, he was one of the incorporators of the Washington State Medical Association. An early proponent of germ theory, he brought the topic to the attention of local physicians in 1890 with the publication of a paper entitled “Are Germs the Cause or the Result of Disease?”

He served consecutive terms as President of the King County Medical Society in 1892 and 1893, an organization of which he was also a charter member. A driver behind the publication of Northwest Medicine, Eagleson served as the journal’s business manager in its nascent stages.

Eagleson was also a member of the Army reserve. When it became clear the United States would enter the First World War he was asked to form a base hospital unit. Base Hospital Number 50, the subject of this blog, did noteworthy service in France and Eagleson was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in recognition of the unit’s work.

Following the war, he was active in the formation of the American College of Surgeons and served as a member of its Board of Regents until his death. In addition to his medical endeavors, he was involved in church work and the YMCA throughout his life. Well-read beyond medicine, he established a Chautauqua reading group in Port Townsend and his diary references Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, Dickens, and the Bible.

James Beaty Eagleson was married in Seattle on July 1, 1889, to Clara Blanche Mills, a native of Michigan, and they were the parents of four children: James Mills, Margaret Elliott, Helen Elizabeth and Jean Mills Eagleson. Dr. Eagleson died unexpectedly on January 26, 1928, and is buried at Seattle's pioneer Lake View Cemetery.

Dr. Eagleson was a highly respected physician, surgeon, religious and civic leader. He worked tirelessly to build a better community and exemplified his own prescient words recorded in his diary in 1884, “If we improve upon our mistakes of the past, we make our future more perfect.”

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1. Hines, Rev. H. K., D.D. An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893, page 488. Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project by Jeffrey L. Elmer, October 2003.
2. The alumni record of the University of Illinois, Chicago departments. College of Medicine Alumni, Class of 1885, pg. 6. 
3. King County Medical Society Bulletin, November/December 2013, pg. 8.