William Chester Minor
| William Chester Minor | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1834 Ceylon |
| Died | March 26, 1920 (aged 85) Hartford, CT |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Known for | Contributions to the Oxford English Dictionary |
| Relatives | Thomas T. Minor, Mayor of Seattle (half-brother) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Union (United States) |
| Service/branch | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1863/1864 to 1871 |
| Rank | Commissioned officer (surgeon) |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Wilderness |
William Chester Minor, also known as W. C. Minor (June 1834 – March 26, 1920) was an American army surgeon and one of the largest contributors of quotations to the Oxford English Dictionary. He was held in a lunatic asylum for murder at the time.
Minor was born on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the son of Congregationalist Church missionaries from New England. He had numerous half-siblings, among them Thomas T. Minor, mayor of Seattle, Washington. At 14 he was sent to the United States. He subsequently attended Yale Medical School, graduating with a degree and a specialization in comparative anatomy in 1863.
He was accepted by the Union Army as a surgeon and served at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, which was notable for the terrible casualties suffered by both sides. Minor was also given the task of punishing an Irish soldier in the Union Army by branding him on the face with a D for "deserter" and his nationality later played a role in Minor's dementia delusions.
After the end of the American Civil War, Minor saw duty in New York City. He was strongly attracted to the red-light district of the city and devoted much of his off-duty time to going with prostitutes. By 1867, his behavior had come to the attention of the Army and he was transferred to a remote post in the Florida Panhandle. By 1868, his condition had progressed to the point that he was admitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a lunatic asylum in Washington, D.C. After eighteen months he showed no improvement.
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