City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

George Christian Anthon, a physician, was born on August 25, 1734, in Saxe-Meiningen, Germany. He studied medicine in Germany, moved to Amsterdam where he worked as a surgeon, and then to America around 1757 (Anthon 5-6). Anthon was a surgeon in the British Army, and served in North America during the French and Indian War ("Alumnus"). He was stationed in Detroit and remained there through the American Revolution. He settled in New York City in 1786 to build a medicine practice ("Alumnus"; Anthon 12). Anthon served as Governor of the Lying-In Hospital, University Trustee of Columbia College from 1796 to 1815, and as a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York.

Anthon was married twice: first to Mariana Navarre in 1770 (Anthon 9); then in 1778 to Genevieve Judot with whom he had twelve children including, Charles Anthon, born in 1797, a professor of classics at Columbia College; John Anthon, born in 1784, a lawyer and founder of the New York City Law Institute; Dorothea Louisa, born in 1786; Henry Anthon, born 1795, a rector at St. Marks in the Bowery (Anthon 21).  

Anthon died in 1815 and was buried at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City (Anthon 19).