Notable Alums
Specialty: General Surgery
Graduation Year: 1875
Edmund Chapoton
Edmund Chapoton, M.D. 1875, was a descendant of one of Detroit’s most prominent founding French families.
Jean Baptiste Chapoton, a major in the French Army Medical Corps, served as the third surgeon at Fort Pontchartrain from 1719 to 1752. After he retired, he continued to live with his family in Detroit until his death in 1760. Dr. Edmund Chapton was his great, great, great grandson.
While his grandfather, father and brother were all successful construction contractors who built many homes and important buildings in Detroit, Dr. Chapoton followed in the footsteps of Jean Baptiste, earning a degree with honors from St. John College in New York and a medical degree from the Detroit Medical College – the forerunner of the Wayne State University School of Medicine -- in 1875. He then spent two years performing post-graduate studies in Paris and Berlin with some of Europe’s best researchers.
Upon his return to Detroit in 1877, he joined the faculty of the Detroit Medical College (WSUSOM) with the title demonstrator in Physiology and Anatomy. He soon progressed to lecturer in Pathology and Pathology Anatomy. In 1882 he became professor of Principals and Practice of Medicine, and for several years served as chair of that discipline.
In that period, almost all medical school faculty members were volunteers who earned their living practicing medicine. Dr. Chapoton became a senior member of the medical staff at St. Mary’s Hospital and chief of staff at Providence Hospital. He was a member of the Detroit Medical Library Association, the Wayne County Medical Society and the Michigan State Medical Society. He served on Detroit’s Board of Health. He also served on Detroit’s Fire Commission and Lighting Commission, and was a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus.
He remained on the faculty of the Detroit Medical College for 38 years until his sudden death in 1915.
Jean Baptiste Chapoton, a major in the French Army Medical Corps, served as the third surgeon at Fort Pontchartrain from 1719 to 1752. After he retired, he continued to live with his family in Detroit until his death in 1760. Dr. Edmund Chapton was his great, great, great grandson.
While his grandfather, father and brother were all successful construction contractors who built many homes and important buildings in Detroit, Dr. Chapoton followed in the footsteps of Jean Baptiste, earning a degree with honors from St. John College in New York and a medical degree from the Detroit Medical College – the forerunner of the Wayne State University School of Medicine -- in 1875. He then spent two years performing post-graduate studies in Paris and Berlin with some of Europe’s best researchers.
Upon his return to Detroit in 1877, he joined the faculty of the Detroit Medical College (WSUSOM) with the title demonstrator in Physiology and Anatomy. He soon progressed to lecturer in Pathology and Pathology Anatomy. In 1882 he became professor of Principals and Practice of Medicine, and for several years served as chair of that discipline.
In that period, almost all medical school faculty members were volunteers who earned their living practicing medicine. Dr. Chapoton became a senior member of the medical staff at St. Mary’s Hospital and chief of staff at Providence Hospital. He was a member of the Detroit Medical Library Association, the Wayne County Medical Society and the Michigan State Medical Society. He served on Detroit’s Board of Health. He also served on Detroit’s Fire Commission and Lighting Commission, and was a prominent member of the Knights of Columbus.
He remained on the faculty of the Detroit Medical College for 38 years until his sudden death in 1915.