William Knickerbocker Van Reypen
BornNovember 14, 1840
Bergen, New Jersey
DiedDecember 22, 1924(1924-12-22) (aged 84)
Washington D. C.
Known forU.S.S. Solace

RADM William Knickerbocker Van Reypen (1840-1924) was the sixteenth Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) and the twelfth Surgeon General of the U. S. Navy, serving from 1897 to 1902.[1][2]

Early life and education

Van Reypen was born in Bergen County, New Jersey the son of Cornelius C. and Christina C. (Van Alen) Van Reypen. He graduated from the Medical Department of the City University of New York in 1862. He was married to Constance Eleanor (Wells) Van Reypen They had one son in 1883, also William Knickerbocker Van Reypen, who died by suicide in 1906. He served as the Vice President of the Holland Society of New York from 1891 to 1893.[3]

Career

Van Reypen served at the beginning of the Civil War as a Fife Major in the 2nd New Jersey Militia from May 1861 to July 1861. His first professional job was as Assistant Surgeon in New Jersey in 1861. He served in a variety of shore duty posts, being promoted to Medical Inspector in 1887 and medical director in 1893. President McKinley appointed him as Surgeon General on October 23, 1897, to succeed Newton Bates who died in office.[2]

During the Spanish–American War he designed and equipped a hospital ship, the U.S.S. Solace, the first time one had been present in naval warfare and the first to fly the Red Cross flag.[1][4][5] These ships were important because not only could they treat the sick and the wounded, they could also make the other ships more efficient by leaving them with only soldiers who could participate.[6] The U.S.S. Solace was neutral under the terms of the 1864 Geneva Convention.[7] He was the head of the Red Cross Society, directly succeeding Clara Barton, serving from 1904 to 1905.[1] He helped set up the Red Cross's Duluth Chapter.[8]

Van Reypen retired with the rank of Senior Rear Admiral after forty years of service in 1902.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "VAN REYPEN A SUICIDE, UPSET BY OVERSTUDY; Admiral's Son Was Preparing for Columbia Law Examinations". The New York Times. 1906-01-28. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  2. 1 2 Roddis, Louis H. (1942-12-01). "William Knickerbocker Van Reypen, Surgeon General, United States Navy (1897–1902)". Military Medicine. Oxford University Press (OUP). 91 (6): 696–699. doi:10.1093/milmed/91.6.696. ISSN 0096-6827.
  3. ↑ Year book of the Holland Society of New-York. 1896. pp. 24, 28, 32.
  4. 1 2 United States Naval Medical Bulletin. NAVMED P. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1937. p. 1-PA115. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. ↑ "Surgeon General of the United States Navy William K. Van Reypen to Secretary of the Navy John D. Long". NHHC. 1898-04-25. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ↑ Eaton, Harriet Phillips (1899). "Jersey City And Its Historic Sites". Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Naval Medicine". NHHC. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  8. ↑ "Red Cross: A century of service in the Northland". Duluth News Tribune. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
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