Solomon Drowne

Dr. Solomon Drowne (also known as Solomon Drown) (March 11, 1753 – February 5, 1834) was a prominent American physician, academic and surgeon during the American Revolution and in the history of the fledgling United States.

Drowne was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1753. His father (also named Solomon, as was his father) was a merchant and was heavily involved in the civic affairs of the town. The Drowne family was also active in the First Baptist Church in America. Drowne's great-uncle Shem Drowne made the famous grasshopper weather vane atop of Faneuil Hall in Boston. In 1772, Drown witnessed the burning of a British ship in an event known as the Gaspée Affair. The following year, he graduated from the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the original name for Brown University) and received medical degrees from Dartmouth College and the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).

From 1776 to 1780, during the Revolutionary War, Drowne served as a surgeon in different hospitals and with different regiments throughout the Continental Army. On July 3, 1776, he narrowly escaped being captured by the British while gathering medical supplies in New York City.

While stationed and treating soldiers at Rhode Island, he gained the favor of Marquis de Lafayette, the Comte de Rochambeau, the Comte d'Estaing and other French military officers supporting the American cause. In autumn 1780, he became surgeon on board the privateer sloop Hope owned by Joseph Nightingale and John Innis Clarke, keeping a diary that was later published. Drowne was discharged from the First Rhode Island Regiment on June 15, 1783, receiving a Badge of Merit for six years' faithful service.

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