More than two decades after the University of Michigan established the nation’s first university hospital, William Fleming Breakey approached the Medical School with a petition to start courses in dermatology and syphilology.
Syphilology, a prominent field of study in the late 1800s and early 1900s, dealt with the diagnosis and treatment of syphilis.
A graduate of U-M’s Department of Medicine and Surgery, Breakey practiced medicine for several years at Whitmore Lake and served as an assistant surgeon in the Civil War. After a gunshot wound to his left thigh left him debilitated, he returned to Michigan to teach and focus on his own research and ailments of the skin.
Breakey was appointed lecturer of dermatology and syphilology in 1890 and soon started a clinic where he took on patients and provided demonstrations for medical students. By 1894, more than 200 patients each year were treated in the university’s hospital for dermatological concerns.
Breakey was promoted to professor of dermatology and syphilology in 1905 and retired in 1912. The medical faculty unanimously voted to appoint Udo Julius Wile as his successor.
While Breakey was a member of the U-M community for more than 50 years and described by colleagues as “a man of delightful personality, whose graciousness and lovable qualities endeared him to all of his medical qualities,” Wile was a young upstart in the medical community known for his ambitious aspirations.
A graduate of Columbia and Johns Hopkins Medical School, Wile expanded upon Breakey’s clinic and officially launched the nation’s first Department of Dermatology in 1913.
He compiled a skilled team from hospitals and universities throughout the United States to practice and teach in the department. Eight of his trainees went on to lead dermatology departments across the nation.
Under his leadership, the Department of Dermatology and Syphilology transitioned from a section of the university hospital into its own building. Officially opened in 1918, the building included 25 beds for patients and grew into today’s thriving community of dermatologists dedicated to groundbreaking research and patient care.
