Col. James A. Mattison, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1173-1174 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				COLONEL JAMES A. MATTISON, M. D. 

	Dr. James A. Mattison, governor and chief surgeon of the Battle 
Mountain Sanitarium of Hot Springs, a national sanitarium for disabled 
volunteer soldiers, has proved a most capable executive and is also a 
surgeon of much more than ordinary skill. He was born in Nashville, 
Tennessee, February 3, 1870, a son of John and Anna (Acker) Mattison, 
both of whom were natives of South Carolina. 

	The Doctor was born and reared on a farm and at the age of 
eighteen years was thrown upon his own resources, starting out at that 
time to work his own way through college. After completing his 
preparatory education he entered the University of Nashville and was 
graduated therefrom in the class of 1895, receiving the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts. During the following year he was principal of the 
city schools of Lewisburg, Tennessee. In 1896 he entered the medical 
department of the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated 
in 1900. He then took a competitive examination for an appointment as 
interne in the university hospital and won the highest honors, serving 
his interneship during the following year. In 1901 he was made 
instructor in physiology in the Toledo Medical College and the 
following year was appointed surgeon of the National Military Home at 
Marion, Indiana, remaining there for a period of nine years. In the 
meantime, in 1905, he went to Europe, where he spent some time doing 
post-graduate work in the University of Berlin, Germany, in Berne, 
Switzerland, and in London. 

	In 1911 Dr. Mattison was appointed governor and chief surgeon of 
Battle Mountain Sanitarium; a government sanitarium located at Hot 
Springs, South Dakota, and has since filled that position to the entire 
satisfaction of all concerned. Through his surgical ability he has been 
able to restore the sight of many of the veterans and has prolonged the 
lives of many others. His reputation among his professional brethren is 
high and he is a valued member of the Black Hills Medical Society, the 
South Dakota State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, 
and the association of Military Surgeons of the United States. He never 
allows himself to fall behind the march of medical and surgical 
science, but on the contrary, through continual study keeps informed as 
to the achievements of investigators and of surgeons throughout the 
world. The large measure of success that he has gained is due entirely 
to his devotion to his profession and his well known rectitude and 
probity.