William Jarvie, M. D. S. (1841-1921)
Born on July 14, 1841 in Manchester, England, William Jarvie immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1855. The family settled in Brooklyn and in 1856, at the age of 15, Jarvie was apprenticed to Dr. A.A. Wheeler, a local dentist. After three years, his apprenticeship was dissolved by mutual consent and Jarvie moved to Boston where he studied and worked with Dr. W.W. Codman, a prominent dentist, until 1863.
In March, 1863, he returned to Brooklyn, where he conducted a highly successful dental practice for the next 43 years. During this time he had several partners, including Charles B. Biddle, J.E. Schroeder, Lewis J. Elliott, Jr., J.E. Linstedt and C.B. Parker. In 1873 Jarvie received the degree of Master of Dental Surgery from the Dental Society of the State of New York.
Jarvie actively participated in professional affairs and served as president of the New York Odontological Society, the Brooklyn Dental Society, the Second District Dental Society, and the Dental Society of the State of New York. He was an Honorary Vice President of the International Dental Congress at Paris in 1889 and was President of the Operative Dentistry Section of the International Dental Congress at Chicago in 1893.
Throughout his career, Jarvie had a strong interest in improving the standards of dental education in the United States. In 1876 he became a member of the Board of Censors of the Dental Society of the State of New York and, after its functions were taken over by the New York State Board of Dental Examiners in 1896, continued on the new board for several years.
In 1916, he was named to a committee of distinguished dentists, physicians, and scientists that had been appointed to advise Columbia University on the desirability of establishing a dental school. Led by the biochemist William J. Gies, the committee strongly urged the founding of a "University-based" dental school in New York. In August 1916 Jarvie persuaded his brother, merchant and banker James N. Jarvie, to donate $100,000 towards an endowment for the school. It was the first large gift the school received and allowed the University to open the School of Dentistry in September, 1916 (it was renamed as the School of Dental and Oral Surgery in 1923 and again to the College of Dental Medicine in 2006.). The School's student research honor society, the William Jarvie Society, commemorates his role in the school's founding.
Jarvie married Amelia Carrollton McHenry in 1867. After his retirement, he moved to Montclair, NJ where he died November 16, 1921.
The William Jarvie Society
Columbia University
College of Dental Medicine
630 West 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
