Dr. Thomas Hinde

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Historical Maker #1386 in Newport, Kentucky, remembers the life of Dr. Thomas Hinde.

Born in England, Hinde studied surgery and medicine in London. Instructed by Dr. Thomas Brooks, Hinde quickly learned the trade and received his medical license from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1757 at age twenty.

Shortly after finishing his education, Hinde became a surgeon's mate in the British navy. During his years of military service, Hinde was a member of a fleet that made port in New York. He served as a physician to the British army during the French and Indian War and spent several years in North America before returning to his native country.

Upon the recommendation of his former mentor, Dr. Thomas Brooks, Hinde moved to Virginia in 1765 to assist an elderly physician with his practice. He was successful in his new home and wed Mary Hubbard two years later.

As the colonies declared independence from the British, Hinde was asked by Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia, to serve as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. For his dedication to the war effort, he was granted 20,000 acres of land in what is now Kentucky. Hinde settled in Newport and continued his work as a physician. He died in 1828 at age ninety-one.