Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Collections
Pennsylvania Repositories
By Stacey C. Peeples, Curator - Lead Archivist
The Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first chartered hospital, was founded by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin, in 1751. It was the first institution in colonial America organized exclusively for the treatment and care of the sick poor and mentally ill. The Pennsylvania Hospital became a primary force in shaping the attitude of colonial Americans toward persons with emotional and psychological disorders, as well as advancing the practice of clinical medicine through Dr. Bond’s lectures to medical students at the hospital.
