John Rhea Barton (April 1794 – January 1, 1871) was an American orthopedic surgeon remembered for describing Barton's fracture.
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Early life
Barton was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in April 1794. He was the son of Elizabeth (née Rhea) Barton (b. 1759) and William Barton (1754–1817), a lawyer who designed the Great Seal of the United States. Among his siblings was older brother was William Paul Crillon Barton, the medical botanist, physician, professor, naval surgeon, and botanical illustrator. His uncle, Benjamin Smith Barton, was an eminent medical botanist and vice-president of the American Philosophical Society.
Barton graduated from the School of Medicine (now known as the Perelman School of Medicine) at the University of Pennsylvania in 1818 and started teaching there soon after.
Career
He became surgeon at the Philadelphia Almshouse, working for Philip Syng Physick, and returned to the Pennsylvania Hospital as surgeon in 1823.




