Moses Minas Housepian (Armenian: Մովսես Մինասի Հովսեփյան, 1876 – December 11, 1952) was a Syrian-born Armenian-American physician and humanitarian aid worker.
Moses Minas Housepian | |
|---|---|
Մովսես Մինասի Հովսեփյան | |
 Housepian (1916) | |
| Born | 1876 Kessab, Cilicia, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | December 11, 1952 (aged 75–76) New York City, New York |
| Other names | Movses Housepian |
| Alma mater | Long Island College Hospital |
| Known for | physician, humanitarian aid worker |
| Spouse | Makrouhie Ashjian |
| Children | Edgar Housepian, Marjorie Housepian Dobkin |
Biography
editMoses Minas Housepian was born in 1876 in Kessab, Cilicia, Ottoman Empire (now Syria).[1] He escaped the Hamidian massacres in his youth. He graduated from Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in 1905.[2]
He later headed a humanitarian medical mission in Russian Armenia from 1916 to 1918 treating refugees from the Armenian genocide.[2][3] He is credited with stopping the spread of a typhus epidemic and was known as the "Angel of Mercy", and as "Dr. Purgich" (English: "Dr. Saviour").[4]
Housepian was active in the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, whose chapter in New York City was posthumously named for him.[5] His wife, Makrouhie Housepian (née Ashjian), was active in the Armenian General Benevolent Union and other Armenian causes.[6] Moses and Makrouhie Housepian were the parents of Marjorie Housepian Dobkin and Edgar Housepian.[7]
Housepian died on December 11, 1952, in New York City.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b New York State Journal of Medicine. Medical Society of the State of New York. 1953. p. 219.
- ^ a b "Honoring NY-Area Early Writers and Intellectuals of the Mirror-Spectator". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ "Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents' Footsteps". 16 January 2010.
- ^ Dr. M. M. Housepian: A Tribute to His Memory (pamphlet published in 1954 by the Dr. M. M. Housepian Memorial Fund Committee and printed by the Gotchnag Press in New York City), p. 6: "During the First World War, news of the deportations and massacres in Turkey led Dr. Housepian to organize a volunteer group and leave for Armenia. There he found forty thousand refugees... A typhus epidemic had created urgent need for medical care... Archbishop Tirayre of [The Armenian Church's headquarters at] Etchmiadzin has observed that Dr. Housepian's efforts were directly responsible for checking the spread of the epidemic... many of his grateful patients referred to him as "Dr. Purgitch" (Dr. Savior).
- ^ "In Memory of Dr. Edgar Housepian". 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Humble FAR Honoree Housepian Follows in Parents' Footsteps". 16 January 2010.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Dr. Edgar Housepian (1928-2014)". November 22, 2014.