History of the Delaware Academy of Medicine. There is little known about the first hundred years of medicine in Delaware. However, it is assumed that pioneer physicians who first arrived came supplied with the medical and surgical appliances available in England, Holland and Sweden. The first physician to practice medicine was Dr. Tyman Stidham, in 1654 when he landed in New Castle, DE.

The Medical Society of Delaware was incorporated in 1789. The first president was Dr. James Tilton, a distinguished physician who was penned by General George Washington as a "gentleman of great merit". Other prominent physicians who helped shape the medical profession in Delaware include Doctors Edward Miller, Lewis Potter Bush and Lewis B. Flinn.

Dental history began in Delaware with a traveling dentist who visited communities that needed his services. He was not a mere tooth-puller but somewhat of a student of medical literature, a skilled metal worker who repaired teeth and made artificial dentures. The Delaware Dental Association was founded in 1863 by Doctors Samuel Marshall, William G. A. Boniwell and Charles R. Jefferis. The first dentist on record was Dr. John LeTelier. Membership also included Doctor Frances Treadwell, one of Delaware's first women dentists.

The Delaware Academy of Medicine was organized in 1930 by a group of local physicians and dentists to foster interest in medicine, science, literature and educational activities. The Academy occupies the historic National Bank of Delaware building which was originally located on the corner of Sixth and Market streets in Wilmington. In 1931, the building was moved to its present site on Lovering Avenue and became the permanent home of The Delaware Academy of Medicine.

The Delaware Academy of Medicine was founded by sixteen doctors and dentists in 1930. These included Julian Adair, MD; Olin S. Allen, MD; Joseph M. Barsky, Sr., MD; W. Edwin Bird, MD; J. Draper Brown, DDS; Lewis B. Flinn, MD; George W.K. Forrest, MD; William H. Kraemer, MD; W. Oscar LaMotte, Sr., MD; Emil R. Mayerberg, MD; John H. Mullin, MD; W. Morris Pierson, MD; James H. Spackman, MD; Albert J. Strikol, MD; Charles E. Wagner, MD; and Victor D. Washburn, MD. Their goal was to provide a professional library and a meeting place where doctors and dentists from all over the state could gather to exchange ideas and experiences, and so improve the quality and delivery of medical care. They also intended the Academy to be a historical repository for the Delaware medical community, documenting and memorializing the lives of its members.

Dr. Flinn served as the Academy’s first president, occupying the office for twelve years. Many years later, in 1984, the Academy's library was renamed in his honor, becoming the Lewis B. Flinn Library.

Since its founding, the Delaware Academy of Medicine has been housed in the former Bank of Delaware building, which was built in 1815 on Sixth and Market Streets in Wilmington. After the bank moved to newer quarters in 1931 and the building was left empty, Mrs. Henry B. Thompson and Mrs. Ernest I. duPont led a drive to raised funds to purchase the building for the newly founded Academy. With their help and support, the building was relocated to the current site on Lovering Avenue, and the Academy took up residence there in 1932. In 1958, an addition was constructed, expanding the auditorium and creating more office space for the various medical groups that had their offices in the building.

Over the years since 1930, the Academy’s purpose has grown broader. It serves the Delaware medical community by offering them a meeting place, and it provides medical library services with an extensive collection of journals, books, and databases and other electronic resources that few other institutions in the state can match. It also sends librarians directly to hospitals and other medical institutions around Delaware through its Circuit Riding Medical Librarian Program. Since 1961, the Academy has also provided financial aid to medical students.

At that time,the library was established and began collecting books, journals and artifacts to preserve the history of medicine and dentistry in Delaware. Over the years, the library membership has grown, serving physicians and dentists statewide. In 1981,TEL-MED, an automated telephone system of recorded consumer health information was installed. In 1982, the Circuit Riding Medical Library Program, which brings library services to health care institutions on a regular basis, was established with the first contracts at Kent General and Milford Memorial hospitals. In 1984, the Library was dedicated to Lewis B. Flinn, one of the founders and the first president of The Delaware Academy of Medicine.

But today, the Delaware Academy of Medicine serves the general public directly as well. It makes its health information resources accessible to everyone in many ways, including professional reference librarian service, the Gail P. Gill Consumer Health Library of popular medical books, and the TEL-MED automated health information service. Through a partnership with the Division of Public Health, it provides consumer health information services at public libraries in Kent and Sussex Counties. It also holds lectures and seminars to educate the public on important health topics.