William Shippen (1712–1801) was a Philadelphia physician and father of Dr. William Shippen, Jr. (1736–1808). He was one of the founders of the College of Philadelphia, a member of the American Philosophical Society, and a member of the Continental Congress 1778–80. Among the guests at Dr. Shippen’s on this evening, in addition to GW and some of the other Virginia delegates, were Dr. William Shippen, Jr., Rev. and Mrs. Samuel Blair, John Adams, and the New Jersey delegates (ADAMS [1] description begins L. H. Butterfield, ed. Diary and Autobiography of John Adams. 4 vols. Cambridge, Mass., 1961. description ends , 2:137).

The Pennsylvania Hospital, the first of any importance in the colonies, was bounded by Eighth and Ninth and Spruce and Pine streets. It had been completed in 1756, partly by money voted by the assembly of Pennsylvania and partly by subscription. According to John Adams, on this visit to the hospital young Dr. Shippen gave him, GW, and the other guests a lecture on anatomy. John Adams had also visited the hospital earlier with young Dr. Shippen: “We saw in the lower Rooms under Ground, the Cells of the Lunaticks, a Number of them, some furious, some merry, some Melancholly. . . . We then went into the Sick Rooms which are very long, large Walks with rows of Beds on each side, and the lame and sick upon them—a dreadfull Scene of human Wretchedness” (ADAMS [1] description begins L. H. Butterfield, ed. Diary and Autobiography of John Adams. 4 vols. Cambridge, Mass., 1961. description ends , 2:116).