[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 23473] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]IN HONOR OF DR. EPHRAIM McDOWELL ______ HON. BEN CHANDLER of kentucky in the house of representatives Monday, September 29, 2008 Mr. CHANDLER. Madam Speaker, Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the Father of Abdominal Surgery, is one of the most well-known Kentuckians and physicians in American history. During a year-long celebration continuing through the end of 2009, Danville, Kentucky and the Sixth Congressional District will celebrate Dr. McDowell's contributions to the field of medicine. Originally born in Virginia in 1771, Dr. McDowell's father, Samuel McDowell, served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He was sent to Central Kentucky when Ephraim was 11 to serve as one of the first land court judges in the County of Kentucky. Dr. McDowell received his early education in Danville and then returned to Virginia to study medicine under Dr. Alexander Humphries. Recognizing his great talent, Dr. Humphries encouraged him to travel to the University of Edinburgh, the seat of medical learning at the time. He studied there for two years, returning to Danville in 1795. In December of 1802, Dr. McDowell married Sarah Hart Shelby, daughter of the first governor of Kentucky, Isaac Shelby. They had nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood. On Christmas Day in 1809, Dr. McDowell performed the world's first successful ovarian surgery. Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford, a 46-year-old Green County housewife, had been told by other physicians that she was pregnant with twins. Using no anesthesia, Dr. McDowell removed a twenty-two and one-half pound tumor. Mrs. Crawford recovered in 25 days and lived for 32 more years, to the age of 78. Throughout his career, Dr. McDowell performed many other surgeries, including one on future United States president, James K. Polk, who traveled from Tennessee to Kentucky for Dr. McDowell's expertise. He was also an original founder of Centre College--a private, liberal arts school in Danville--allowing his legacies of education and ingenuity to remain alive in Central Kentucky's students. Dr. McDowell lived until 1830. He died at his summer home, Cambus- Kenneth, of what is now believed to be appendicitis. Mrs. McDowell lived out her life at the home of one of her daughters. She passed away in 1840. Dr. McDowell's residence, apothecary and office are preserved as a museum, the McDowell House, in Danville and are designated as a National Historic Landmark. This premier historical site will serve as a host for the year-long celebration to remember the most prominent surgeon west of the Alleghenies in the early 19th century. ____________________