Robert William Hooper

Robert William Hooper was an American physician born on October 24, 1810, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He entered Phillips Academy at the age of 12, graduating in 1826. He then attended Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1830. Beginning in 1833, Hooper pursued studies throughout Europe. He returned to the United States in 1835 and obtained a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from Harvard Medical School in 1836. Additionally, in 1861, he received an MD degree from Queen's University of Ireland, a designation often awarded to individuals who already held a doctorate.

Hooper married Ellen Sturgis on September 25, 1837. The marriage produced three children, all of whom survived him. Following the death of Ellen Sturgis Hooper on November 3, 1848, Hooper ceased practicing full-time medicine to dedicate himself to caring for his children. Subsequently, his medical practice mainly involved charitable causes.

Henry Adams, who stayed with Hooper prior to his marriage to Marian Hooper Adams, noted that Hooper was "a good deal of a slave to his two daughters." Hooper served as a surgeon at the Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. He also held the position of trustee of the Boston Athenaeum for thirty years. His professional affiliations included memberships in the Massachusetts Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In 1871, Hooper was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Robert William Hooper died on April 13, 1885, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 74.