John C. Handy
| John C. Handy | |
|---|---|
Dr. John C. Handy
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| Born |
October 20, 1844 Newark, New Jersey |
| Died | September 24, 1891 (aged 46) Tucson, Arizona Territory |
| Cause of death | Killed in self-defense |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Physician; Founder, Society of Arizona Pioneers; Founder, Pima County Medical Society; Killed by wife's divorce attorney |
| Spouse(s) | unnamed Apache woman; Mary Page |
John Charles Handy (October 20, 1844 – September 24, 1891) was a prominent physician who attacked his wife's divorce attorney and was killed. He practiced medicine from 1871 to 1891 in Tucson, Arizona Territory. He was first a contract surgeon for the U.S. Army at Camp Thomas and married an Apache woman. He became known for a fiery temper and during a disagreement with the post trader killed him, but was acquitted of all charges. Handy moved to Tucson in 1871 and remarried. He was selected in November 1886 as the first Chancellor of the University of Arizona and was a well-regarded physician. He founded the Pima County Medical Society in 1879 and helped set high standards for medical care. In 1884, he was among 58 Tucson pioneers who formed the Society of Arizona Pioneers.
He severely abused his wife Mary Page, chaining her to a bed in their home for days and may have administered morphine to her until she was addicted. Two years later he was having an affair with a married woman and filed for divorce, accusing her of being "a morphine fiend and a common slut." Handy publicly stated that any lawyer who defended her "would be sorry", and repeatedly threatened to kill her attorney Francis J. Heney.
After he won the divorce trial and custody of their children, who he sent to live with his mother, he tried to evict Mary Page from the home the court had awarded her. In September 1891, he attacked Heney on the streets of Tucson and the attorney shot him in what was ruled as self-defense. Handy's good friend Dr. George E. Goodfellow, a nationally recognized expert in gunshot wounds, traveled 70 miles (110 km) to operate on Handy but was unable to save him, and Handy died the next day.
Handy's son Jack was told by his paternal grandmother and aunt that Heney had attacked his father, but as an adult learned the truth from his maternal grandmother. Jack became friends with Heney and served as a pallbearer at his funeral.
Handy was born in on October 20, 1844 in Newark, New Jersey and moved with his parents to California in 1853. He graduated at age 19 from the Cooper College in San Francisco and received his medical diploma from Toland Medical School in 1865. He served as an Army contract surgeon in Arizona Territory at Fort Apache and Camp Thomas for two years.
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