# David Cheever

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**David Cheever** (June 25, 1876 – August 13, 1955) was an American [medical doctor](/source/Medical_doctor) who was a professor of surgery at [Harvard Medical School](/source/Harvard_Medical_School) and surgeon at the [Peter Brent Brigham Hospital](/source/Brigham_and_Women's_Hospital).

## Early life

Cheever was born in [Boston](/source/Boston), June 25, 1876.[1] His father, [David Williams Cheever](/source/David_Williams_Cheever), was a seventh-generation descendant of [Ezekiel Cheever](/source/Ezekiel_Cheever) and a leading surgeon for over a half-century.[2] He prepared for college at the [Hopkinson School](/source/Dixwell_School#Hopkinson_School) and graduated from [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_College) in 1897.[1]

## Career

### Surgery

Cheever graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1901. He had a two year [internship](/source/Internship_(medicine)) at [Boston City Hospital](/source/Boston_City_Hospital) then studied for eight months in [Europe](/source/Europe).[3] From 1905 to 1912, he was an assistant surgeon at City Hospital.[4] In 1912, he and Dr. [John Homans](/source/John_Homans) were chosen to be the first surgeons as the new Peter Brent Brigham Hospital.[5] In 1917, he took over as acting surgeon-in-chief after Dr. [Harvey Cushing](/source/Harvey_Cushing) entered the [United States Army Medical Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Medical_Corps).[1] He retired from Brigham Hospital in 1939, but returned during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) to once again serve as acting chief surgeon, this time filling in for Dr. [Elliott Cutler](/source/Elliott_Cutler).[4]

### Harvard

From 1903 to 1913, Cheever taught in the anatomy department at Harvard Medical School.[1] In 1913, he became an assistant and demonstrator in anatomy.[4]

In 1915, Cheever, [President of Harvard University](/source/President_of_Harvard_University) [A. Lawrence Lowell](/source/A._Lawrence_Lowell), and Herbert H. White sprearheaded the formation of the second [Harvard Surgical Unit](/source/Harvard_Surgical_Unit), a volunteer contingent of medical personnel from Harvard who provided medical assistance to the [British Expeditionary Force](/source/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_I)) in France during [World War I](/source/World_War_I). Cheever was the unit's chief surgeon from December 1915 to June 1916.[6]

Cheever was appointed Associate Professor of Surgery in 1922 and Associate Professor of Surgery Emeritus in 1939.[1] He was a guest lecturer at the Chicago Surgerical Society in 1939 and the [University of Toronto](/source/University_of_Toronto) in 1941.[4] From 1940 to 1946, he was a member of the [Harvard Board of Overseers](/source/Harvard_Board_of_Overseers).[1]

### Professional associations

Cheever was a member of the [Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie](/source/Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9_Internationale_de_Chirurgie_Orthop%C3%A9dique_et_de_Traumatologie), [Sigma Xi](/source/Sigma_Xi), and [Alpha Omega Alpha](/source/Alpha_Omega_Alpha).[4] In 1930, he was elected a fellow of the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences).[7] He was an honorary fellow of the [Royal Society of Medicine](/source/Royal_Society_of_Medicine).[4] From 1905 to 1911, he was secretary of the Harvard Medical School Alumni Association.[1]

Cheever was president of the [American Surgical Association](/source/American_Surgical_Association), [Boston Medical Library](/source/Boston_Medical_Library), New England Surgical Society, and Boston Surgical Society.[4] He was the first son of a former ASA president to himself become president.[1]

## Personal life

On June 8, 1907, Cheever married Jane Welles Sargent, daughter of Francis William Sargent and Jane Welles Hunnewell and granddaughter of [H. H. Hunnewell](/source/H._H._Hunnewell). The ceremony was held at the Eliot Church in [Natick, Massachusetts](/source/Natick,_Massachusetts) and the reception was held at the [H. H. Hunnewell estate](/source/H._H._Hunnewell_estate).[8] They had five children – David, Francis Sargent, Charles Ezekiel, Daniel Sargent, and Jane Hunnewell.[9] [Francis Sargent Cheever](/source/Francis_Sargent_Cheever) was the president of the [American Association of Immunologists](/source/American_Association_of_Immunologists) (1963–1964), dean of the [University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh_School_of_Medicine) (1958–1969), president of the [University of Pittsburgh Medical Center](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh_Medical_Center) (1970–1974), and a member of the [Massachusetts General Hospital](/source/Massachusetts_General_Hospital) board of trustees (1978–1982).[10]

One of Cheever's nephews was [Governor of Massachusetts](/source/Governor_of_Massachusetts) [Francis Sargent](/source/Francis_Sargent). A grandson, Daniel S. Cheever Jr., was president of [Simmons University](/source/Simmons_University) and [Wheelock College](/source/Wheelock_College).[11]

Cheever was elected a member of the [Massachusetts Historical Society](/source/Massachusetts_Historical_Society) in 1941 and regularly attended meetings until illness prevented him from doing so.[1]

Cheever died on August 13, 1955, at his summer home in [Wellesley, Massachusetts](/source/Wellesley,_Massachusetts). He was predeceased by his wife, who died in 1940.[4]

## References

1. Viets, Hary (October 1953 - May 1957). "David Cheever". *Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society*. **71**: 423–426.

1. "Dr David W. Cheever Dies At Age Of 84". *The Boston Globe*. December 28, 1915.

1. [*Havard College Class of 1897 Fourth Report*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2sknAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22David+Cheever%22&pg=PA78). 1912. pp. 78–79. Retrieved December 24, 2025.

1. "David Cheever, Famed Surgeon, Dies at 79". *The Boston Globe*. August 14, 1955.

1. "Drs Cheever and Homans Named". *The Boston Globe*. June 22, 1912.

1. "Harvard Surgical Unit On Its Way Home". *The Boston Globe*. January 19, 1919.

1. ["David Cheever"](https://www.amacad.org/person/david-cheever). *American Academy of Arts & Sciences*. April 10, 2025. Retrieved December 24, 2025.

1. "Cheever–Sargent". *The Boston Globe*. June 9, 1907.

1. [*Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report, 1897-1922*](https://books.google.com/books?id=qsgnAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22David+Cheever%22&pg=PA634). 1922. p. 634. Retrieved December 24, 2025.

1. ["F. Sargent Cheever, M.D."](https://www.aai.org/About/History/Past-Presidents-and-Officers/FSargentCheever). *American Association of Immunologists*. Retrieved December 24, 2025.

1. Marquard, Bryan (December 15, 2011). ["Daniel Cheever, 94; scholar, teacher helped support UN"](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/12/15/international-affairs-professor-daniel-cheever-present-creation-charter/gU1HfoJHiyu87cgEZJ2NhM/story.html). *The Boston Globe*. Retrieved December 24, 2025.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Cheever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cheever) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cheever?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.