John Warren, Revolutionary surgeon and practitioner in Salem and Boston, was an influential force in the founding of Harvard Medical School, where he lectured for over 30 years. Warren was born on a farm in Roxbury, Mass, attended the local grammar school (which later became the Roxbury Latin School), and entered Harvard College at the age of 14.1 He maintained himself by his own efforts, was proficient in the classics, and, showing a proclivity for anatomy, took the lead in forming a student's association for the study of the subject. Having received the AB degree in 1771, he entered the office of his brother, Dr. Joseph Warren, as an apprentice, studying his preceptor's limited medical library, assisting in the dispensing of medicines, and attending him in the office and on house visits. After two years of such study, he chose Salem as a site for practice, believing that Boston was