Jared Potter Kirtland

Jared Potter Kirtland
Jared Potter Kirtland
Born	(1793-11-10)November 10, 1793 Wallingford, Connecticut
Died	December 10, 1877(1877-12-10) (aged 84) Rockport, Ohio
Nationality	United States
Fields	natural history malacology
Institutions	Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Jared Potter Kirtland (November 10, 1793 – December 10, 1877) was a naturalist, malacologist, and politician most active in the U.S. state of Ohio, where he served as a probate judge, and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was also a physician and co-founder of Western Reserve University's Medical School, as well as what would become the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Kirtland's warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii ), Kirtland's snake (Clonophis kirtlandii ), and the Forest vine snake (Thelotornis kirtlandii ) are named after him.

Kirtland was born in Wallingford, Connecticut. His mother was Mary, daughter of Dr. Jared Potter, a famous physician of Wallingford. His father, Turhand Kirtland, was largely interested in the purchases made by the Connecticut Land Company in Ohio, and moved to the Western Reserve in 1803. In the meantime the son remained in Wallingford. When Potter died in 1810, he left a legacy to provide for Jared's medical education at Edinburgh. But the War of 1812 with Great Britain prevented the voyage, and when the Yale School of Medicine went into operation in 1813, Kirtland was the first matriculated student in a class of 38 members. He was married in May, 1814, to Caroline, second daughter of Joshua Atwater, of Wallingford, and after graduation in 1815 he practiced in Wallingford until 1818, when he made a journey to Ohio to perfect arrangements for a removal thither. But on returning for his family he found a peculiarly attractive opportunity for establishing himself in Durham, Conn., and there remained until the death of his wife in 1823, when he carried out his intention of settling in Poland, Ohio.