Cornelius Rea Agnew Papers, 1858-1910 | The Green-Wood Cemetery

Dr. Cornelius Rea Agnew (1830-1888) was a prominent ophthalmologist and surgeon in New York City during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in New York City, Agnew studied at Columbia College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. After a short time practicing in Michigan, Agnew returned to New York in 1855, where he would spend the rest of his career. He was appointed to the surgical staff of the Eye and Ear Infirmary of New York City and soon after became surgeon-general of New York State. During the Civil War, Agnew served as the medical director of the New York Volunteer Hospital treating wounded Union soldiers, and was also active in the United States Sanitary Commission. Agnew was a founder of the Union League Club of New York City, assisted in the organization of the School of Mines of Columbia, and established an ophthalmic clinic in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He also founded the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital, the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, and the New York Ophthalmological Society. In his later years, Agnew’s work focused primarily on diseases of the eye, a topic on which he wrote extensively and taught at Columbia University.

Agnew died in 1888 and is interred at The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, alongside his wife, Mary Nash Agnew (Lot 28342, Sec. 161).

Source: Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L., eds. (1920). "Agnew, Cornelius Rea". American Medical Biographies. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.